Demons and Angels (Lastinginthenight X Eldarwen)

The horse dragon kept grinning at Kono, all the more so when he tried defending himself. She knew well enough that most dragons, even herself, kept away from human villages as much as possible but it had been too easy a joke to let it pass by. As for Selene, she had some point lifted her gaze again, looking toward the mountain range as well, wondering if there really was not going to be any danger in that direction. If even a little of what Abraxas had told them was true, then they might not be safe anywhere they went.

Shaking her head, asking herself why she had even wandered out into the forest, but it was ridiculous to ask that kind of questions because no matter where she had gone, she might have encountered the same story and maybe just encounter the shade – or shades?! – itself and she might not even have survived. Now at least she had an ally in form of a dragon, who certainly was skilled when it came to fighting, or so she hoped. Finally, she nodded agreement to Kono’s statement, looking at both dragons in intervals: “It might be helpful to have a look around where it has been, even if it’s only a small clue we could find, it might later on help us against him. Should that need ever arise...” which she hoped it would not.

Abraxas inclined her head in what almost looked like a bow. “So far not much could have been discerned about these mysterious happenings, otherwise I would have heard along with the stories. I will head to the mountains as I’ve planned. I wish you the best of luck on your quest.” And with that she looked at both of them one last time, turned back around and disappeared into the bushes as quickly as she had appeared.

Selene tore her gaze from the spot the horse dragon had vanished at and eyed Kono, wondering what was going on inside his head. “Well then, where are we headed?”

Kono noddd as he listened to Selenes statement but said nothing, his mind was filled with thoughts on what could be lurking out in the shade infected lands, he hopped it was not more than he could handle.

Kono watched as the horse dragon turned to leave, inclining his head to her though he doubted she noticed since she had already dissapeared into the trees. He glanced down to the girl before looking out at the trees again, the girl never came prepared for violence, can she handle herself against an apponent? He sighed the questions could wait for later, when they were in the air and away from anything that could be lurking in the woods.

Kono shook himself and uncurled, grabbing the remains of the uncooked deer and tearing them apart, "Grab some meat, you will want it for later." He said before stretching his limbs and flapping his wings to loosen his muscles. Brushing his tail over the grass to scatter the deer bones he had left behind he waited for Selene, "I hope you liked flying the first time, because you're probably going to be doing it alot longer than the first time." He chuckled thinking of Selene sitting on his back for hours straight, he was pretty sure humans caouldn't last as long as he could in the same position.

ooc: kono has rambling thoughts XP

Selene remained quiet as the dragon seemed to be lost in thought, completely oblivious to anything around him – or so it seemed. She couldn’t guess what he was thinking about but the news they’d just received, no matter how much of it was true, was troubling. It had been a long time since she had heard rumours of people disappearing or being massacred. Growing up in a small village, people loved to tell these kinds of stories, especially when they wanted to frighten little children into staying inside at night. Yet, when she was older, she’d learned to understand that not all of those stories were just that, stories. Some contained much more truth, even though they hinted at times long passed.

This was different however. It felt different somehow and not in a good way. And the worried look that seemed to be spreading over Kono’s face did not make Selene feel any better. As he then finally stirred and spoke, it was not exactly what she had expected.

“Grab some meat?” It made Selene laugh when she thought of the image that immediately popped into her head, an image that she felt the need to reproduce for the dragon. Thus, she eagerly followed Kono’s suggestion and grabbed a haunch of the deer, taking up a fighting stance and holding out the haunch like a sword while theatrically shouting: “Into battle!” Still laughing, she looked at the dragon with an apologetic look: “Sorry,” she shrugged, “that just had to be.”

Standing there with a piece of meat in her hand, not knowing what to do with it, she felt a little stupid. “So where am I going to put this while we fly?” It’s not like she had a huge bag with her and holding a leg for hours on end was not her idea of comfortable. Replying to Kono’s question, she grinned: “I did enjoy flying, no worries. As long as you don’t pull too many stunts where my stomach decides it doesn’t like diner anymore.” Moving closer to the dragon, she fidgeted for what seemed like ages until she had finally managed to clamber onto the dragon’s back, all the while fighting with the provisions in her hand, hoping she did not smear too much of it onto the dragon’s scales. But finally, she was ready to depart – despite the piece of deer she didn’t know where to put.

~((Lol who would've thought he was a rambler, if only in his mind Wink

))~

Kono watched Selene strike a pose, he smiled. It had its humor to it, but he was more focusing on the stance she had taken which helped reassure him some. He wasn't completely sure how humans fought but from the looks of it, it seemed to be a sturdy stance. He shook himself away from his thoughts and rolled his eyes comically, "Humans, they're all so weird."

He laughed at Selene's comment, "I'll try to remember that, but I'm not making any guarantees." watching as Selene scrambled onto his back struggling with her meat he cocked his head and raised his wings testing the way his back formed. He sighed; the meat wouldn't be sturdy enough to just sit there. "We will head to a nearby town I know of. Last time I went there they had a store for dragon riders, if it's still there we can get something to hold your meat and something to keep you strapped in incase something unexpected happens." He wondered to himself weather the same family ran the shop but he shook his head at the absurdity of that thought. Of course not it had been almost 100 years.

Kono evaluated the landscape feeling for the wind. There was more wind here than in the forest, but he was still below the trees. This time he at least had some room to run. Kono backed up giving himself his own take of strip. "Hold on tight" Kono launched forwards unfurling his wings and flapping lightly to test the air before lifting his wings as high as they would go and leaping into the air while pushing down with all his strength. One. Two. Three strokes and they were up above the trees and into the air. He circled letting the thermals take him higher. "Alright the worst is over, you can relax now.....I hope you didn't drop that meat." he commented with a slight smile.

“Oh yes, a dragon rider shop, how awesome! I have never seen such a shop!” For someone who until not that long ago hadn’t known there were actually things such as dragons – for real! – it was not that big of a surprise that she had never been to such a shop, but she was not about to spread that news too far, especially not since she was now on the back of one of said dragons that to her had only been a myth for the biggest part of her life. “It would indeed be nice not to have to hold on to this constantly. Plus, my legs are already feeling a little sore... so not only something for me to hold on to, but also something a tad more comfy..”

Selene purposefully did not comment on Kono’s statement of something unexpected happening. It was not something she wanted to think about, even if that something might just quite simply be a sudden change in direction for whatever reason. Following his advice, she grabbed on tightly, trying not to lose her grip on that damn piece of meat – she was almost certain that out of spite she was not going to eat it anymore, the piece was annoying her – and felt her stomach tighten as Kono readied for take-off. The quick ascent was something she had to get seriously used to if she was ride a dragon more often. Yet, they were almost quicker in the air and above the tree tops than she could have cursed the haunch and already her muscles were releasing the tension.

Quietly soaring through the winds and drifting along like clouds, Selene felt very peaceful and jumped at the opportunity to quiet down her thoughts a little. Too much had happened in not too many hours and she needed to relax, desperately, and this might be just it. As the dragon’s words seeped through to her, a dark look crossed her face, but she soon had to laugh: “No, believe it or not, it’s still with me.” Shaking her head, she looked over the landscape, enjoying the fantastic view. As this was her second time on his back and it was not all quite as new anymore, she felt more adventurous and dared to look around a little more than she had before, and it was really nothing she’d regret, climbing on top of a dragon. “What is the place called we’re going to?”

Kono straightened out and pointed himself north flapping his wings leisurely. Being in the sky always relaxed him no matter what was going on. He laughed as Selene commented on the meat. He leaned one of his wings into a passing cloud, slicing through the condensed water dampening his wing and leaving a trail through the cloud.

"We're headed to a little town that I believe is called Shayenne. It has a perfect take of cliff. It's probably why the shop is in that town instead of the capitol." Kono reluctantly tilted his wings backwards lowering himself below the line of the clouds so he could have a clear view of the ground below. He could almost make out the two towns in front of them, they really weren't far from his favorite forest. They had grown since he last remembered them, but he wasn't too surprised.

"Can you see it?" Kono flapped his wings speeding up ever so slightly. He fought the urge to drop out of the sky and fly right against the cliff like he normally would have done if he was alone... Of course if he was alone, he wouldn't have been here anyway.

Selene rolled the name of the town around in her mouth. Shayenne... She'd heard the name but didn't know much more than that it was a town. Never had she heard what the people were like, whether Shayenne had many inhabitants or whether it was a strange mixture of people or just a plain normal human town. Though she figured it would certainly not be comparable to the little village she had grown up in. Realising that Kono would not be able to read her mind though, she said out loud: "I've barely heard the name and obviously never been there. I haven't come around much so far and being stuck in a little village with people that are not very broad- and open-minded... You get the idea."

When Kono drifted back closer towards the earth, she squinted her eyes to distinguish the outlines of the town and most of all that perfect take off cliff Kono had been talking about. From this distance and height, she couldn’t distinguish too much but she could see that it was quite a steep wall from one town to the other. It would certainly be nice to venture along the outline of the cliff to enjoy the view, she mused, completely ignoring the fact that a wrong step could lead to a fatal fall for a human. Standing on the edge of a plateau or a cliff, was something Selene had always enjoyed, even though she hadn’t had a lot of possibilities to do so.

“Yes, I see it, though I can’t see much. Just a bundle of something and a huge drop towards another bundle of .. something.” A dragon must have fantastic eyesight if Kono could distinguish details, even better than Selene had thought so far. “And you’re absolutely sure they’re dragon friendly there? Despite a possible shop?” Remembering what the horse dragon had said about dragons keeping away from humans, she suddenly wasn’t so sure anymore that this was a good idea. Nevertheless, she nestled around for a comfortable way to tighten her grip on the dragon without losing anything, preparing for the descent, which was imminent.

Kono chuckled soaring closer to the town. "Well something is good." He stooped one of his wings slightly pointing himself a little off the main center of the city. "No I'm not sure that they are completely dragon friendly, but when I last visited here the dragon shop was at the very edges of the towns limit, away from everything else. Thats why we're also coming after dusk." As he started nearing the towns limits he stooped his wing ever so slightly lower circling until he was feet above the ground. He flapped three times lowering his back end before folding his wings and dropping his front legs.

He looked back towards selene, "I hope that wasn't too bumpy." He had landed far enough away that he couldn't be seen from the lights of the city but close enough that selene wouldn't have to walk too far. He lowered himself to tbhe ground so that it would be easier for selene to get off. While doing so he curled his tail around. "I'm not sure if it will be of any use but on my tail I have a scale thats ready to fall out. You can take it...Oh and don't worry it won't hurt me at all. We shed kind of like a snake." He offored it because sometimes people used dragon parts in their potion making, so maybe it would help pay for the supplies. He looked to the town and the lights that shone from houses looking for the old wooden building that had housed the dragon riders shop 100 years ago.

It was not a very comforting thought when not even the dragon was sure how they were going to be received. So she completely agreed that it was a good thing the shop was on the outskirts of the town, away from mostly every living soul, especially at this time of day. It made her stomach tight though, not knowing what was awaiting them. Adventurous or not, she did not enjoy plunging headlong into a possibly dangerous situation without a decent way of escape.

Tight muscles were a nasty occurrence, especially when they were already that way before a descent on a dragon’s back begins. The young woman was nervous as it was but at least Kono made the landing as enjoyable and comfortable as possible. Thus, when they were back on the ground and she already began scrambling around to get off, she replied with a smile: “No it was really fine, thank you.”

Looking over towards what seemed to be the building housing the dragon shop, the knot in her stomach dropped downward. This didn’t look like a friendly place, shabby and dark, almost forlorn. Surprised, she looked at Kono when he spoke, completely forgetting that she was a bundle of nerves, realising that she had been ridiculously naive again. “Oh jeez, I hadn’t even thought about payment! Ah, how could I be so stupid..,” she scolded herself. “Are you sure this is ok then?” Selene looked at the dragon, grateful that he had thought this through much better than her apparently. She let her eyes wander over his tail until she saw a scale that was not quite sitting where it should be anymore, ruining the regular flow of the other scales. Carefully, she touched it and when she realised that it was indeed very loose, she picked it up, easily removing it out of the tail. “Thank you, Kono.”

“Right then.. let’s do this,” she tried to encourage herself. Without looking back as to what the dragon was doing, Selene ventured the few steps towards the building, her previous suspicions only reinforced as she did not hear a sound and the flicker of a flame was barely visible. It was way too quiet for this place to still be in use. A shiver ran down her spine as she was standing in front of the door, which was ajar. The distinct light of a fire pushed its way through the crack but she still did not hear even a whisper. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and when she took in the room, her mouth fell open in surprise.

The hundreds of artefacts lying around were astonishing. Sculptures of dragons, saddles, weapons, potions, all was mixed together into an amazingly beautiful little shop. Eagerly, Selene stepped forward to be able to take it all in and she was scanning the shelves and cupboards for minutes before she realised that something was out of the ordinary. And then it hit here, she was completely alone. “Hello?” she tentatively spoke into the empty space of the shop, but obviously there was no response. “Hello?” she repeated, this time louder. “Is there anybody here?” Then suddenly she felt herself fall forward and her entire world grew blank when something hit her hard on the head from behind, knocking her unconscious.

Kono nodded as Selene turned away from him. He selted into a comfortable lying position, fore-paws crossed under his neck, wings resting loosely against hsi side, their tips brushing the ground, but his eyes remained open, bright yellow embers in the night. He watched the surrounding town as Selene ventured inside the shop, he didn't see much movement, but that was to be expected at this time of night. So slowely he let his eyes drift away. Until he spotted a squirrel sleeping in its nest in a tree. He blew a cloud of smoke into the squirrels nest until it came out jabbering angrily. Then he snatched it and dropped it in his mouth happily before getting ready for a nap.

Suddenly he heard a crash within the shop and his eyes shot open. He lifted his body and made his way quickly to one of the shop windows. Seeing Selene collapsed inside he hissed loudly, swinging his tail so it lay across the door to the shop. He even extended his wings to make himself appear larger than his already huge size in the shadows of the night. "Show yourself being, before I burn you to a crisp." He rummbled blowing out a large puff of smoke threateningly. He hated the closed roofs of buildings but he wasn't about to go smashing in a building just because of a misunderstanding...at least thats what he hoped it was. But just in case he had his claws on the roof ready to demolish it.

Stars were circling in her vision and the young woman had completely lost her sense of time. After what seemed like hours, she flicked her eyes open only to quickly close them again as dizziness flooded through her head. Remaining completely still, Selene tried to make the feeling of nausea disappear and the spinning stop. She had no clue what had happened or why she was lying on the floor, she didn’t even know where she was. After yet another long while, a noise reached her ears as though someone was arguing. A low, grumbling and threatening voice and a higher-pitched one, pleading with the first, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying.

What Selene could not distinguish, was that the owner of the high-pitched noise was actually a very old, very wrinkled looking woman, seemingly as old as the shop and the building it was housed in themselves. Frantically, she tried to gesticulate that it had been an accident and not in any way a malicious intent on her part. “It was an accident, I swear! What else was I supposed to do? I need to defend myself!” She feared the dragon would go through with his threat and rip her little house into shreds. The more she feared this would happen, the more she yelled: “Don’t do it! Don’t you dare do it!” And the more the ancient woman shouted at the dragon, the higher pitched her voice became. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing?!” Until suddenly her voice broke into a croaking whisper and she couldn’t get any other words out. Panting, she stood before the dragon, still clutching her walking stick in her hand like a weapon – indeed the weapon she had used to hit Selene over the head with. After a few more breaths, she matter-of-factly stated: “I am indeed getting too old for this sort of thing. What do you want?”

Selene remained on the floor, groaning in pain as the nausea threatened to empty her stomach. Forcing herself at least into a kneeling position, her back turned to the dragon and the ancient woman, she rubbed her head in an attempt to make it stop spinning. It had all happened so fast and she was confused as to what was going on. “Wha... ?” The words were stuck in her throat when she involuntarily began gagging, but luckily, she managed to control herself before anything could happen. Holding one hand to her stomach, the other to the floor to steady herself, she began swaying as the dizziness grew stronger again.

Kono narrowed his eyes, "You needed to defend yourself from an unarmed youngster?" He hissed bringing his head closer to the woman's as she shouted at him some more. "And yes I do know what I'm doing. I'm threatening to destroy the house of someone who assaulted a helpless person looking to buy." He looked on as she wielded her walking stick at him and sighed removing his talons from her roof and folding his wings again.

"What do I want? ... First I want you to make sure Selene’s okay, then we will talk about merchandise." He grumbled threateningly. He looked through the window to the shop. Selene was awake now but she looked pale like she was going to vomit. He glared at the old woman's back ... she almost seemed old enough to have been around the last time he was here, but that was impossible, humans didn't live that long ... did they?

He pushed those thoughts aside and returned to looking through the window. Inside the shop held hundreds of artifacts and items. He saw potions, figurines, swords, saddle bags, and saddles; he even saw some strips of leather for custom saddles. The place was indeed magnificent inside despite it's decrepit outside, but he was more interested in the old woman and Selene.

The old woman tutted angrily at Kono’s words, immediately showering him with angry words and waves of her stick again. “Unarmed youngster? How was I supposed to know she was harmless? I am no dragon, I cannot threaten everyone simply by lifting a claw and by painting images of destroying home and family! Do you have any idea what it is like to be an old woman on your own? NO! So do not dare tell me how I should behave in my own shop! You have no idea what it has been like around here these past few years, so don’t go blaming me for being maybe a bit too zealous about my own safety.” Taking in a shaky breath, the woman huffed once more and then turned her back to the dragon, now apparently sure that he was not going to harm her anymore. As she realised that Selene had woken up and managed to get onto her knees but not feeling all too well, she hobbled over to a small cabinet and took out a small flask.

Uncorking it, she waved it under the poor girl’s nose, which wrinkled in disgust. Selene felt like she was going to empty her stomach any second now but suddenly, all the uneasiness was gone, taking with it the nasty smell of whatever was inside that bottle. Raising an eyebrow at the woman, she said: “I am not sure whether I should shout at you or thank you..” It made the older woman smile, and she simply said: “Do neither.” While she returned the flask to its cabinet, Selene got up on her feet, the dizziness blown away as well.

Venturing a small smile in Kono’s direction, her attention was immediately caught again by a weird figurine, which seemed to be unique. There was nothing similar on the shelves around it, contrary to many of the other figurines, which existed in similar shapes, coloured in almost the same ways, the few that were. This figurine however seemed special... Yet before Selene could think about it further, the old woman addressed Kono: “Now, what can I do for you?” Selene glanced at Kono, letting him do the talking, seeing that the woman had addressed him anyway and he was the one that knew exactly what they were going to need as a saddle... She was happy letting him arrange things.

Kono settled down into a crouch so he could see through the doorway. Watching as the old woman treated Selene with whatever wierd smelling vile she had in her hands. He saw Selene's nose wrinkle and guessed that the smell of the vile was not at all pleasent, but he was releived when the color returned to her face and she stood up. He blinked in return to her smile, and noticed Selenes eyes drawn to something in the shop but turned his attention to the old woman as she adressed him.

Kono hurred in thought then let his eyes venture to the leather and saddels toward the back of the shop. "We will need saddle bags and a saddle ... that fits me." He then let his eyes wander through the parts of the store he could see. Man did he hate roofs and closed buildings, they always restricted his sight. Sighing he continued, "We will also need weapons and something to carry them in. I am thinking something long ranged and something for close combat, but I will let Selene decide on the specifics."

He looked to where Selene had fallen earlier, "We do not have much in the way of payment but Selene did bring one of my scales here...before you wacked her with your walking stick." He narrowed his eyes momentarily but quickly regained his composure. "Will that do? I may have more if you require it."

(hmmm special figurines...I'm uber curiouse O.O I wants to know whats different.)

Selene blinked as the dragon suggested she choose the weapons. Weapons? What weapons? She barely knew how to use a dagger in self-defence, what made him believe she could use something long ranged, like a bow? But before she could protest, the woman was already pointing her to a shelf and told her to have a look around and pick what she needed. In the meantime, the old woman herself followed up on Kono’s request for a saddle and quickly picked a few things from her stacks without really considering them. Apparently, Selene thought, she knows her job very well. The young woman was all the more surprised when the old woman began fitting her gatherings onto the dragon and they all were the perfect size.

Selene turned back towards the weapon arsenal in front of her and was at a complete loss. Staring at the many daggers, swords, maces, axes, two-handed or one-handed, crossbows, bows and so on. There was even the odd staff to be found amongst it all and it made her wonder how those were to be used. Gliding her fingers along the intricate decorations on a particularly long staff, she suddenly heard the shop owner say beside her: “Ah, yes. This is a wonderful piece of work. It actually belonged to one of the most renowned sorcerers ever to inhabit this island. Alas, with his departure from the living, the staff apparently lost its power too.” Selene was intrigued and would have loved to ask more about this item, but she didn’t get the opportunity to ask as the older woman pointed out a rather short sword. “This one should be fine for you. It is small, and thus relatively light. A good novice weapon without obviously stating that it is just that.” Handing it to Selene, she had to admit that the sword was surprisingly light and lay nicely in her grip. Questioningly looking at Kono, she decided that she should simply take it, he could probably not give her much help in choosing a weapon for her anyway. “I will take this then and one of the daggers, but I will pass on the ranged weapons, I have no idea how to use them anyway. They would only be a burden.” The shop owner nodded, took back the sword as well as one of the daggers, without asking Selene for her opinion, and picked out some other things, which she all put into a leather bag she could strap over her shoulders.

As Selene’s eyes wandered through the shop to see whether they had forgotten anything, her eyes hovered over the figurine again. She barely heard the woman speak when “I put everything you will need into this bag. As for payment, the scale will be fine, but consider this a gift from an old lady who has nothing much left to do on this earth.” As the older woman’s eyes followed Selene’s gaze, she smiled. “You do have a knack for picking out interesting objects it seems.” She hobbled over to the shelf, picked up the figurine and handed it to Selene. The young woman cupped the statue in her hand, amazed at the detailed craftsmanship despite the small size of the figurine. It depicting a dragon, protectively curled around a tiny, glittering crystal ball and roaring fiercely at someone or something outside of the frame of the figurine. “It is beautiful,” Selene mused. “Does it have a special meaning? I don’t see any other figurines like it,” she said, underlining her statement by looking around the shop once more before fixing her eyes on the old woman. “Oh no, this is indeed very unique, the only remaining one that has been crafted by this particular artist.” A distant, mournful look passed over the woman’s face as if she were lost in sad memories of times long gone. “It was the only one that could be saved.” But she did not give any further information and suddenly, her expression changed abruptly. “Take it, it is yours for the keeping. I do not want to see it anymore. And now leave my shop, you have disrupted my peace and quiet long enough! Shoo, get out, come on now!” And with that, she ushered Selene and Kono out of her shop without so much as an explanation on the sudden mood swing. Still clutching the figurine in her hand, Selene looked at Kono with a quizzing expression on her face, wondering whether he knew how to explain all this?

~((You've given me an idea for that figurine... hehe - the depicted image look familiar? ;-) ))~

Kono shifted his shoulders as the old woman fitted the saddle on him. It fitted snuggly against his body. It sat where his neck met his shoulders the legs of the saddle dropped around his neck and the leather straps that held the saddle to him came from the legs and met up into a single strap at his chest and ran down his stomach until it past the end of his wings before splitting again to meet the back sides of the saddle. The legs had straps to hold the rider in place during a ride. Saddle bags were also attached to the back of the saddle. Kono spread his wings experimentally testing out the feel of the saddle on him and nodded his approval to the old woman. Teh woman then attached what looked like a sword holster (idk what it's actually called) which looked like it held a sword or other weapon. Kono guessed this was so Selene didn't have to hold it, which made sense.

Kono saw Selene glance at him questioningly, while holding the blade. He returned the look with a 'don't ask me' look. He watched as the woman shoved several items in a bag. He watched as the old woman handed the figurine to Selene the item was very realistic looking and as Selene cast him a wonderng glace. He closed his eyes and shook his head, unsure of the womans sudden change in behavior. He simply nodded to the woman. "Thank you for the supplies, we will leave you be. I wish you well being in wherever your path may lead you." He said formally before backing way in preparation for flight. He relaxed his wings still getting used to having something tied to his back

(lol yup I do recognize that picture ^^ I'm interested...very interested *watches with extreme interest* also if you need more explination on the saddle i will provide it.)

Back outside of the shop, Selene shrugged, confused by the old woman’s behaviour but not about to try to analyse it. She wouldn’t find a reason behind it anyway. The shop owner had quite firmly shut the door in Kono’s face even before the dragon had completely finished expressing his gratitude. “That was.... weird, to say the least,” the young woman stated, still looking at the closed door. But then, she turned around to face Kono and a grin spread across her face. “Don’t you look handsome with all that leather strapped around you,” she laughed.

Stepping closer, trying to avoid Kono’s wings as he stretched, she examined what seemed like millions of little straps that were fitted around his body. “She did have quite some eyesight though, everything seems to fit perfectly.” Touching the leather, she was surprised at how soft the saddle was indeed, looking forward to a more comfortable flying experience. Heaving the bag the woman had handed to her onto Kono’s back, she tried to fasten it to the saddle bags as best she could, until she would mount up again and could at least put the sword in its designed sheath on the sadly so she could stuff the rest into the saddle bags.

“But first things first,” she muttered to herself, as she turned around and went back to where they’d landed. “I can’t leave without that damn piece of leg, now, can I?” Luckily, it was still lying where she inadvertently had left it before she’d headed to the shop. While she retrieved the meat, she asked: “I can’t remember what direction the horse dragon said the village was in... can you? Ah, I should really pay more attention when people give hints to a direction! It can’t be that far away though?” Really, she was only rambling, trying to make herself feel less of a fool because she forgot, but they were idle words and she hoped the dragon knew where to go, though she was almost sure that he did not have the slightest doubt about where they had to head.

Kono shifted in his saddle, "You may think I look handsom, but it feels so odd. Of course I've never worn a saddle before..." He wandered off not knowing how to finish the sentence. He finally finished with a shack of his head and a snort. He watched Selene and nodded, "You are quite right. She did seem to know exactly what was needed to fit me." He shrugged lowering himself so it was easier for Selene to pack the bags that now hung from the saddle on his back. He couldn't help but chuckle as she retreived the peace of meat, which had been the cause of this entire trip.

Kono shook his head, "She didn't mention a particular town. She just said around the mountains not far from where we were previously." He looked around at the mountain range that rose up around them. "We could be looking a while. There are quite a few mountains around here... and towns by them." He sighed and rested his nody as flat to the ground as he could to make it easier for Selene to get on.

“Hmm...” she agreed, ”if there’s quite a few, then it will take a while, you’re absolutely right about that. It will be relatively hard to find the right one anyway.” Lost in thoughts, Selene remained standing still for a few heart beats until she snapped back to the present and walked towards Kono, who was now crouching low on the ground to make it easier for her to get into the saddle. The many leather straps still confused her but they were actually very helpful, not only to pull herself up onto Kono’s back but also to tie her feet into place so that she didn’t need be scared about sliding off when not paying attention.

She was fiddling with the saddle for a while, sticking the sword into the specially designed sheath and trying to cram everything else into the saddle bags. While doing so, the little figurine fell into her hand and she gazed at a few seconds, wondering what this all meant, but then dismissed the thought and put the figurine into the bags along with everything else.

“Ready when you are!” she finally told Kono, when she was done fidgeting. “Though I’ve been thinking.... Since the horse dragon didn’t give any more information and there hasn’t been a very wide-spread panic, only a few scattered rumours it seems, my guess would be that it would be one of the smaller, more secluded villages where we could be lucky. What do you think? Wouldn’t it cause too much of a general and plainly known fear if a bigger village had been attacked? We would have heard about it otherwise. No?” It seemed plausible and logical to her, though that didn’t necessarily mean the shade had actually only attacked places where its presence wouldn’t be known for a fact throughout the island right away. Selene shook her head, trying not to imagine what Dragon’s Cove would be like if the shade – or shades – had attacked a big city and caused much more havoc than has already been caused.

Kono watched quietly as she stuffed the saddle bags on his back. He looked over Selene. She looked just like all the other humans, small and fragile. Like if you didn't touch them just right they would shatter into a million pieces. But he knew that they were surprisingly resilient despite their appearance. As Selene fidgeted on the saddle He slowly rose and waited for her to finish.

Kono nodded as she announced that she was ready and walked over to the cliff that separated the capitol and the village next to it. He absent mindedly wondered whether if the cliff hadn’t existed whether the two cities would currently be one. "Well most of the rumors came from travelers, so I think we should fly along the trade roads first." He looked down and tested the wind, and smirked as he felt a gush of wind pass over his body. "This will be fun...Oh and I don't know you but I would lean close to my body so the wind doesn’t slap you in the face." Not checking to see if she had listened he leapt off his wings outstretched and spun into a dive so his back was facing the cliff as he dove towards the light of the city below his out stretched wings catching no wind.

As the lights approached he smiled and let out a burst of flame as he twirled, catching the wind and pulling into a horizontal position, as he did so. using the momentum he had gained he pointed his head slightly upward and tilted his wings back slowly gaining altitude again till they rose well above the cliff they had just left, before slowing down and roaring in exhilaration. Flapping he slowly made his way above the mountain range. "It may be a while and it is dark. You should get some sleep." he suggested coasting along on the thermals adjusting his wings ever so slightly as needed.

What he said made sense and the whole thing was beginning to make her a little excited. What would they find? If they would indeed find something, that is. Her excitement quickly drifted off into uneasiness when she spotted the cliff Kono had mentioned earlier and saw what he had meant by it being a perfect take-off place. From her vantage point, she could appreciate the full view of the very, very steep descent towards the next village. She gulped and gripped the saddle and Kono’s neck tightly, already feeling the change of wind the closer they crept to the edge.

Selene barely had time to react and obey Kono’s suggestion when the motion of the dragon launching himself forward almost pushed her back into an upright position. It took all her strength to manage to fight this first rush of air, but once she was lying flatly against his body, she felt the little flicker of excitement flow right back. The steep descent was exhilarating and even her stomach did not revolt quite as much this time, probably it was getting used to the stunts Selene was pulled through lately.

When Kono abruptly let out a jet of fire, Selene let go her hold on the dragon’s neck, startled. As she was beginning to lose her balance, she was about to scream but then just as suddenly, Kono shifted position and she was sitting upright again, her legs firmly clutched around his body. The straps in the saddle would probably have held her anyway, but the girl had suffered a few terrifying seconds where she thought she’d be thrown off. All the more was she surprised as Kono suggested she should rest a little. “Sleep? While you’re flying? I don’t think so..” she stated, fairly sure that she wouldn’t be able to close a lid. She did feel a little tired, but the adrenalin was still pumping and she didn’t think it was a good idea to doze off on a dragon’s back. “It wouldn’t be fair towards you anyway, leaving you to look on your own and do the flying work at the same time.” She knew that his eyesight was better than hers and that it was dark outside but she was a firm believer in trying to be fair as much as possible. But even while she said it, the soothing, rhythmical beating of the dragon’s wings were lulling her into sleep, adrenalin finally decreasing and her body claiming the rest it was due after all she had experienced on this day.

Kono snorted, "Even if it isn’t fair I don't see you being much of a help at this height." He retorted lazily banking to the right slightly. After a while he looked towards Selene and was about to ask what she could see from this height anyway but was stopped when he noticed she was slumped forward her head lolling slightly to the side and her eyes shut. He couldn't hear over the wind but he was willing to bet that her breathing was slow and even indicating sleep. He sighed and with a smile lowered himself slightly lower to the mountains when he thought he saw a slight difference in the color of the ground, but he wasn't completely sure. It was dark after all.

Eventually he had to lower himself so much that he had to occasionally fly around the larger mountains. Turns out what he saw wasn't a trade road but the western most river that branched off the river glacie. He had been following a stupid river south! He grumbled and was about to lift himself higher into the sky when he realized how long he had actually been flying. The sky was starting to turn gray and an early morning fog was forming around the mountains. He wouldn't be able to see clear enough to fly. He circled back as smoothly as he possibly could and landed by the river taking a few steps forward as he set his feet down so not to shake the person on his back awake.

He looked around, it looked clear of danger it was by a river in the middle of a mountain range for god's sake (I think he would say gods in plural but I'm not completely sure about the belief system. DX pft. Oh well.) He settled down after checking around a few more times and put his head on his talons before giving a large yawn and drifting off into sleep.

ooc; I drew Kono's saddle. It finally stopped bothering me ^^ It's up on my deviantart account.)

Selene didn't notice much from their nightly flight, except for the rhythmic woosh woosh of Kono's wings, and even that was more background noise than anything else. When the dragon touched down near the riverbank, she shortly woke from the change in motion but the day's adventures had left her so exhausted that she immediately drifted back off into sleep. It was a weird dream, shadows everywhere, glowing eyes staring out at every living being, weird shapes and figures floating around in them, hiding in the darkness and seemingly waiting for their moment to strike.

With a shudder, Selene suddenly woke, shivering from the scare her dream had provided, only to be immediately warmed by a ray of sunlight crashing through the thick clouds overhead. The scene was almost peaceful. A river splashing by, trees and mountains all around, and everything was gently illuminated by the sun overpowering the left-overs of the previous night. When she looked down to Kono, she realised that he was still sleeping and she didn't want to wake him. He was probably even more exhausted than herself, especially seeing that he had been flying all night. As the young woman let her eyes wander again, she was surprised at how extraordinarily beautiful this place was. Somewhere in the distance, the splashing of the river was louder than here and growing curious, Selene decided to dismount and go check it out.

She was slowly getting used to clambering up and down Kono's back without too much hassle, something she was actually beginning to be proud of. Who would have thought she would at some point be able to ride a dragon, especially seeing that not all that long again she believed that dragons did not really exist and where just another invention in the fairy tales and ghost stories parents told their children. She could not have been more wrong. While she walked along the river to find the source of the noise, she let her thoughts wander back to older times, some of which she was still carefully sealing away, but she still had to laugh at herself now when she remembered how she'd first laid eyes on a dragon and did not believe that it was for real. The dragon had almost mocked her because she was so naïve and unbelieving...

Right in the middle of her thoughts, Selene suddenly gasped at the view that opened to her through the trees. She hadn't even noticed that the noise had slowly grown louder and louder so that by now it was almost everything she could hear: the powerful downpour of a waterfall, and not just any waterfall. It was huge and simply fantastic to look at. Selene stared at the water as it forced its way down the mountain, her face and hair exposed to the inevitable but gentle sprinkles of water. It was utterly peaceful and somehow very refreshing to be here. In a little while, she would have to go get Kono to show him, if he wasn't already on his way to follow her. He simply had to see this, even though he might already have come across many a waterfall during his travels.

Kono shifted in his sleep, he was dreaming about a white landscape. The trees scattered about had a white snow weighing down their branches and the ground beneath him was covered in the same thing. He didn't know what it was about but he knew for some reason he was looking for something. Then he woke up.

He shook his head as he woke up trying to recall the dream but it slipped away just like the mist in the early morning is burned away by the sun. He yawned and stood stretching all of his limbs out before shaking and standing up. Of course he THEN thought about the fact that Selene had been on his back when he had fallen asleep and he was really hopping he hadn't just shaken her like a leaf. He turned back to find her missing from the saddle. He looked about and sniffed the air. He caught a whiff of her trail and relaxed.

Yawning himself awake once more he splashed into the river and leaned into the water dipping his wings beneath the water but he couldn't fit his entire body. The river wasn't deep enough, but after his quick rinse of what he could reach he started on his way to follow Selenes scent of course killing one or two squirrels that decided to chatter at him along the way.

He spotted her standing at the mouth of a waterfall and cocked his head curiously. He only knew of one waterfall on this river and that was...he shook his head a snorted in frustration. He really needed to get better bearings on where the heck he was. That showed him for mistaking a river for a trade road ever again. "Morning." he grunted finally walking up next to Selene to see what she was looking at.

Selene still transfixed by the beauty of the natural scene around her when Kono suddenly walked up beside her. She returned his greeting with a smile on her face but didn't look away from the waterfall. "Isn't this beautiful?" she mused, finally inclining her head towards the dragon, only to frown at him: "What's wrong? You don't look too happy this morning." And then she had to laugh out loud when she inspected Kono a little closer and saw something dangling from his mouth... "Is that a piece of squirrel fur I can glimpse?" She winked at him, shaking her head while looking back over the river.

The comment actually made her think about the fact that she would need some breakfast too, and her stomach promptly agreed with this thought by rumbling loudly. "Hm, let's see if I can find something edible around here. A few berries or something would already do the trick." Though of course the only bush she could discover that seemed to carry fruit was on the other side of the river. At first, she was a little annoyed by this but on second thought, it would give her the perfect opportunity for a little morning swim. Looking back at Kono, she nodded to the other side of the river. "I will swim to the other side to get some food, but I'd quite like to take the opportunity for a little bath at the same time, if you don't mind the hold-up?" She raised her eyebrows in a questioning look, already decided that she was not really going to wait for an answer anyway. Either he'd wait or he didn't, but she needed to wash and she was hungry. For her, that was the end of the discussion.

Selene swiftly stripped off her clothes, only leaving on the relatively long shirt she wore under the corset and her underwear. With a cheer, she jumped straight into the river, sinking under like a rock. It had been a long time since she'd done that and she was very much enjoying herself. As she came back up, spluttering water, she quickly made her way over to the other side and out of the water to get some food.

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