Demons and Angels (Lastinginthenight X Eldarwen)

Kono nodded, "Yeah it's beautiful, and nothings wrong just frustrated by a mistake I made." He answered looking out over the waterfall. He quickly wiped the hair off his chin with his fore-leg when she mentioned it, curling his neck slightly in embarrasment.

He listened as she decided to go get food as well as bathe. He had no quarrel with her desicion it actually reminded him of his inability to wash all of his body this morning before he had gone to find her. The river in this area was just about as deeo as where he hd bathed before which meant he still wouldn't be able to wash himself properly. He pulled his wings toghter to his body in frustration. And when he thought about it even more he realized that the scales under the saddle and its straps wouldn't get clean either unless there was someone to take the saddle off. The straps weren't designed to be handled by dragons. He hurred in frustration then looked over to Selene. His eye brightened then dulled. She could do it but he wasn't sure if she'd be willing to.

As she swam over to the other side of the river Kono waded into the river himself. "Selene..." he started shuffling his feet some. "I was wondering if you could help bathe me too?" He asked quickly even though it sounded kinda wierd to him "I mean I can"t get my saddle off and I think you should be comfotable around my back errr....yeah" He said clamping his mouth shut so he would stop rambling.

Kono nodded his thanks to her and waded back out of the river onto dry land next to Selene. "That sounds like a good idea." He answered. He shuffled a little once on land, unsure of how to move himself to make it easier for Selene to get to the straps on the saddle.

He watched selene but didn't really register what she was doing, he was well within his own thoughts. He was looking at a map in his mind of where the nearest trade routs and villages were from here. There was one by the shore past the moutnains near river taurz, and their was another south of that one by the delta. He knew that those were the closest two towns, so they would be the most convenient to get to, then they could head north again.

He shook himself from his thoughts and looked to the waterfall before looking back to Selene. "If you need me to move a certain way, just tell me" He told her with a smile.

Kono shook himself when the saddle was finally off anf followed Selene into the water and slid under the water fall. He flicked his tail in suprise then slowely relaxed with a sigh, his head being forced to vibrate up and down under the force of the water. It felt like a deep message, "Oh I notice it. It's like a message (<- idk if thats spelt right)" He spread out his wings letting the water slam against the membrane of his wings. The sound that could be heard from underneath it could almost be compared to the sound of rain against a rooftop.

The waterfall got most of his body thorughly clean all that he really left after a few minutes of a thorough shower from the waterfall that needed to be scrubed were under his wings, which he had her stand on his elbow to reach at when he couldn't get low enough for her to reach it from the water, his chest and belly, (which ended up getting her soaked, again) and right where the saddle legs would have sat, the hollow where his shoulders met his neck. (like that?) After they had finished he wadded out of the water with his wings extended soaking up the sunlight like solar panels letting it dry him off, as well as warm him up.

He eyed the saddle once his scales had finished drying off and moved to settle near it so that Selene wouldn't have to move it as far. He guessed it weight just about as much as a horses saddle but he wasn't sure, but he had once heard a human complain about carring a stupid horse saddle "so far" so he wanted to make it easier. He was even willing to give her a nose up when she was trying to get the saddle up there if needed.

Kono stretched his wings as high as they would go and felt the saddle out then nodded approvingly. "It seems to fit just like last time. He then thought a second, "Oh before we get moving we should get that leg out and cook it before it goes bad, you could probably eat it later too while we are flying if you get hungry." He suggested laying against the ground so it was easier for Selene to get up on his back. He then blew a small flame in front of him so Selene could easily toss the leg intp the fire from his back and let it cook as she got down. To put it simply so they could finish everything they needed to do and start moving faster.

Kono planned out where to head from here. There should be some trade roads not far from here. Humans tended to gravitate towrds places that were naturally rich with game and water. This area would provide such a place, so he wouldn't fly as high up in the air since they would probably end up landing not long after to question the travelers and traders that were using the roads.

Kono stood once Selene had finished clambering into the saddle. He flapped his wings a few times testing the air and stretching out his flight muscles. He looked at her briefly when she posed the question. Kono pondered a few moments turning over the thought in his head. Sure there had been quite a few troubles recently on the road but the travelers and traders should know the difference right? It wasn't like they looked all that threatening. Then he thought about that again and took that statement back. He knew the glances he often received. No he did look threatening. Kono grumbled before he answered, "We will just have to pray that we won't be mistaken as beasts, though i am less worried since you are on my back. You look a lot less frightening than i do, but in case we are taken badly. I have wings and you have a sword.

Kono raised his wings and leaped into the air flapping his wings forcefully. He didn't give Selene any verbal warning since he figured she knew the deal with take off by now. quickly they rise above the trees but they didn't lift high into the air like usual, he had to be able tell when a person was on the road and he didn't want to fly off course again like last time, that had been enough of an annoyance. He took a deep breath relaxing into a flight pattern as he sped over the roads looking for other life forms.

(hmmmmmm somehow i think we need to put the season in here. With that statue and all XD)

Kono glided over the landscape following the trade roads, but as they went on something seemed off. He wasn't surprised that they had gone a while with out seeing any humans, but he hadn't heard anything from the wildlife either. Sure they weren't that loud but usually you heard something. A crack of a branch or one bird calling to another, but he didn't hear anything. A chill went of his scales and it wasn't just the cool, late autumn air setting in. Kono shook his head, "It's weird." he agreed curtly slowly beating his wings once with a woosh of wind.

His muscles tensed and his eyes darted back and forth. "This isn't right." His brain was buzzing with warning bells. He growled shaking his head and snorting, "I'm pulling up." With that he beat his wings gaining altitude and turning quickly away from their current path and into the sky. Just as soon as they had pulled out of the area and high into the sky he heard and ominous shriek, from what sounded like a mix between a wild animal and a dragon. "The shade?" He asked out loud the more to himself then to Selene.


(ooc; Well now we have a season and a mysterious growl. >.>)

Kono hissed half in fear half in anger. His instincts told him to either burn the whole place to the ground or fly away. He snorted shaking his head, "We have to check it out. I'm not going in but I have to fly over and check it out. Taking a deep breathe he tilted his wings back and slowly decreased his altitude though his muscles were still tight with apprehension.

He sank until his could see vaguely through the trees surrounding the area. He doubted any beast would stay out in the open for long after making a kill. He surveyed the area not realizing that as he was doing so he was losing altitude. Thats was until he heard another screech and saw a form dash through the trees towards his direction. The unknown does strange things to creatures. It makes them scare easily and imagine things that never really happened. Kono quickly beat his wings fiercely regaining his altitude thinking he had seen the thing lung at him, but he quickly saw that it hadn't. The thing in the bushes may have screeched at him but it didn't attack. He saw the shadowy form of a shadowy creature retreat back into the dark shadows of the thicker trees. He couldn't quite make out what it was, but he knew one thing it wasn't friendly.

"Yes. It was a humans scream...We are going to explore elsewhere. I want to learn about the shade, without actually meeting it." He said pulling off to track a different trade path. "lets pray, we don't meet him again until we are both ready. You need to practice with your sword, and I need to gather information. It would spell our end if we did not prepare, even if the shade happens to be small."

Kono huffed out a breath he had unknowingly been holding, "I don't think so. It seemed pretty adamant about getting us away so if it could it would have flown after us...I think. That could possibly be why it hasn't gotten to dragons yet...maybe." Kono shook his head as if to move on to another subject. "We should definitely follow this road to the next town, when we get there you can go ask around inside the town. I will go around outside...since I can't really fit in the narrow streets of a human town.

Kono listened to Selene babble for a while, for some reason it was relaxing to hear. "I think some people will believe us and some will not. Have you seen how empty this road is? It means that something has spooked them, which will also means that they will be more likely to panic when we tell them, so we must approach this carefully. Given the current situation they may not want to talk to me though, since most probably don't know what the shade looks like so for all they know I could be it. I will stay outside." He flapped his wings and lowered until they were whizzing over the landscape their shadow covering the road.

Kono snorted when she asked about the man, "I didn't trust him farther than I could spit him. That’s why I was hanging back behind you when I noticed you were talking to him. Out of sight but watching very closely." Kono slowly banked away from the town towards the south. He hoped that at least one person would still be in one of the old arena towns. He thought about her statement some more too, "Did he say he had lived in the town long?" he asked making slightly idle conversation. He flapped his wings quickening his pace the sun was past its peak in the sky and he wanted to cover a good amount of ground before the sun set for the night. He didn't particularly enjoy the mountainless region of the island. He liked the trees but the open plains unnerved him slightly, it seemed impossible someplace could be so flat.

Kono huffed out a breath of smoke as he thought. "Well if there was always no survivors where would the stories come from? Most likely someone has made it out alive...but it is possible that these stories were born out of fear and the beast isn't half as evil as we have been lead to believe. Fear can make even the strongest opponent falter." he fell silent as he turned over the question in his head, trying to approach it from every angle. "We do not know enough about the shade to make assumptions, but I will venture to assume that the people who are taken do not enjoy their time there." He shuddered as he remembered that horrible scream when they were traveling along the trade road.

Kono looked into the setting sun squinting against it's light to search for the town that sat at the edge of this desert. It was the first village he could think of that had once contained an arena, though the walls of the arena still stood it was now filled with kiosk of merchants and shoppers. There, it was just on the edge of his vision but he figured he could reach it before it got pitch black outside, the approaching cloud cover meant there would be no stars or moon to light there path tonight and he couldn't fly without at least some light.

Kono grunted and veered of his original course slightly to land outside the cities walls. He flapped hard as he came in for a landing among the shadows of the city from the low light of the moon. Curling around he settled down to let selene off his back. His eyes were watchful of the environment around them. "We can settle here till morning if you like." he glanced at her curiously before raising his head, "It'll be too dark for even me to see tonight." he commented absently before shaking his head.

Once selene was off (assuming she gets off XD) Kono rolled onto his side moving one wing so it was comfortably sprawled against the ground and resting his other loosely across his legs, offering to act as a shelter (and heater) for selene from the cold.


(omg i'm alive XP)