Frost in the spring? (Spiritdragon & Stormkatz)

Plot:
What should have been a lovely spring day is, for some reason, one completely covered with snow and ice. Plants that were beginning to come up and bloom are now coated with frost, and the animals like it even less. As it is, everyone and everything is hoping that it will go away soon and the warmth will return, but no one is quite sure that it will. Can the cause be found before it is too late, or is this simply a freak occurrence?

Setting:
A small village next to a forest. (I'm thinking maybe either Tarz or Harglen, unless we just want to wing it.)

Joiners:
Spirit: Arcania, Temero
Kat:Dyavol

Temero peered out of his burrow with distaste, uncertain of what had happened. When he had gone to sleep everything had been nice and warm, but now there was snow in all directions. Indeed, the yellow wolf dragon had to wonder if he had somehow slept through not only spring and summer, but fall as well! But surely there was a more simple explanation for all this. Right?

His musings were interrupted by a sudden cracking sound above him, and before he could look up a large pile of snow landed on his head. Temero coughed and shook himself vigorously, trying to get all of it off to no avail. "Well this is lovely," he commented dryly, leaving his warm den underneath the upraised roots of a tree and looking around. There was a village not far away and he headed towards it, determined to figure out what was going on.

In said village, Arcania was standing in the middle of the street, looking up at the sky with a rather bemused expression. The poor female had never done well in cold climates, which was precisely why she had moved. However they seemed to have followed her and unleashed their vengeance. She was wearing a long sleeved red shirt and long pants, as well as boots, but they were doing little to help her combat the cold. As it was, she shivered slightly every minute or so as she pondered what to do. She could either stay in the village until the cold snap passed or she could leave.

Tucking a few loose strands of long auburn hair behind her ears so that they were out of her hazel eyes, she considered her options. Neither seemed particularly appealing so she was, for the moment anyway, stuck.

((ooc;; do you mind if I jump in with Dyavol?))

The unnatural cold outside was ridiculous, and as Dyavol shuffled his wings in an attempt to warm himself, he found that even his warm scales were gathering little crystals of frost. His delicate wings made him stick out in the dreary town, as their brilliant green hues now outshone the plants in the area too. Finally, deciding that the cold weather was too much, he looked for a building to sneak inside.

He could find no liking for the residents of the town – he had no respect for the two-legs whatsoever – but he had to admit that they had cosy little homes. He found a windowsill nearby, and strained to fly up to it on is tiny, frigid wings. Inside a fire was blazing, and there was a warm pie on the ledge cooling off. He tucked himself up beside it, and tried to enjoy the warmth as the ice started to melt away from his bright scales.

Watching the street as the blazing hearth warmed his back, Dyavol saw a few two-legs wandering around. Although they looked unimpressed with the weather, he couldn’t help but notice with spite that /they/ weren’t gathering ice like he had been. As he watched, he noticed one woman standing quite still in the middle of the road, and focused in on her. He could do with a spot of light entertainment, and watching some human freeze would do for the time being.

((Go right ahead! ^_^))

Temero trudged through the snow for a short distance before he remembered that he was a dragon and could actually fly. Snorting at his own stupidity he spread his wings and took off, closing the distance between him and the village far more quickly. Still, he was reluctant to enter immediately. Humans meant little to nothing to him, and other dragons fell not far above, though he would talk to them if need be. Something needed to be done about this strange weather. Clearly it was not right.

Or, he thought suddenly, you could just turn around and fly south. Eventually you will have to find a place that is warm and not covered with snow, right? Temero growled in displeasure, flicking his tail sharply, forgetting that he was flying. After frantically catching himself he soared down to a rooftop, deciding to listen in to the conversations of the humans below. Surely they would have some idea of what was going on.

Arcania sighed, redirecting her gaze to the village around her. Upon close inspection she noticed a wolf dragon sitting on a roof, and the creature certainly did not look happy to be there. A small shiver went down her spine and she turned away from the dragon, not wanting to get caught staring at it. Okay, first things first, finding a place to stay was going to be a priority. But... something smelled good. She moved towards the buildings, searching for the source of the tempting scent.

It took her a few minutes but she finally found it: a small pie with an even smaller dragon beside it. "Oh, hello," Arcania said, slightly surprised at this turn of events. "I was just wondering what that delicious scent was."

Dyavol fought the urge to back away as a he face presented itself to him. It was the same human that he had been watching, and he found a wave of repulsion roll over him, but he fought that back too. “It’s a pie, apparently. I think it’s apple.” He said pleasantly, smiling sweetly, but flicking his metallic, barbed tail. The pins were getting quite warm from the hot pie beside them, and he almost expected to see them glowing red at the tips. They weren’t.

“I’m Dyavol, by the way. Mahlyenki Dyavol. I’m guessing that you don’t know why it’s so cold.” He said, feeling uncomfortable. He wanted the two-leg to go away, but it was looking like she would be his only way out of the freezing cold. After all, whoever owned the pie was sure to turn him out sooner or later, and then he’d be back to gathering ice crystals in the freezing air outside. Speaking of pie though…

He leapt up with a flutter of wings to see over the edge of the piecrust. Then, with a deft, figure-of-eight movement, he punctured the golden pastry with his tail-spines. Greenish filling erupted under him, and he perched on the pastry to take a mouthful. Yup, definitely apple, and pretty good too. He may have had no kind thoughts from humans themselves, but when it came to food they had the right idea.

"Arcania," the woman replied simply, watching the little dragon examine the pie. "It would appear so," she agreed, though she was noticibly less interested in the food now that she had figured out what it was. She had never been much for pie though she did enjoy the scent and would, on very rare occasions, eat it if it looked good enough. The one in question almost tempted her, but she turned away from it, having other things to worry about.

"Actually you would be right. I have no idea why it is snowing. Though I know this is no natural occurrence," She pulled her cloak more tightly around herself to keep the chill out, still needing a place to stay. "Do you have a human?" she asked Dyavol, returning her attention to him. "Or are you stranded out here in the cold?" Truthfully she had no idea what to do with him if he did not have a companion, though she would not let him freeze. It wouldn't really benefit her, but she refused to be completely unkind to a creature in need. It might pay off in the long run someday.

Did he have a human? The very thought made him retch. However, as his wings stood no chance of flying him out of town to the warmer climates down south, he would have to be pleasant to its residents. Just for a little while – he could always take one down when he left. “No, I am fairly… particular about the company I keep. So, you could say I’m on my own.” He said carefully, diving head-first into the hot, sticky mess of pie. He could taste the spices now, and he could feel the hot apple warming him right through.

Re-surfacing from the pie, he licked his face clean carefully. “And I sort of guessed it wasn’t natural. I can usually manage to fly without forming icicles in mid spring.” He smirked, contemplating fully tucking into the pie instead of stealing the gooey crumbs near the edges. However, inwardly he couldn’t help cursing Arcania, or whatever the biped was called, for her lack of useful information. He liked to consider himself a very independent dragon, but right then he was relying on her more than he cared to admit.

Arcania nodded slightly, watching the dragon for a moment before digging into her pockets for some change. "And I can generally walk around without freezing," she commented. "And seeing as I cannot, clearly something is not right." Clearing her throat Arcania scanned the town, her gaze once again settling upon the wolf dragon on the roof opposite them though she was careful not to stare.

"I am not from around here myself," she added. "For a while I had to wonder if this was something that happened often." She did not mention that she had not wondered for long. She wanted to come across as less intelligent than she really was, sensing that she would need a few tricks up her sleeve. Perhaps more than a few depending on how things went.

Why was the human telling him so mush? He didn’t care where she was from! Well, he was intelligent to tell that she was far bigger than him anyway, and he was painfully aware of how easily she could have crushed him with a flick of one wrist. In his current position, he would have to humour her. “I’ve been here often enough, and believe me, this does not happen.” He said, finally deciding that the pie was a little too tempting. He crouched low on the steaming dish, wriggling his hind quarters in the air, before springing into the deep pie carefully. He broke the crust easily, and landed in the pie as if it were a pool. However, a noise behind him put him off his enjoyment of the sweet lake of apple. It was the sound of a door, swinging open and shut, followed by footsteps. Whoever’s house it was had returned, and they would not be pleased to find a small dragon lurking in their warm pie.

“We have to go!” he shouted, as loud as his little lungs would allow (which turned out to be a reasonably volume, but rather higher that he would have liked). He struggled to open his wings in the pie, and took off with a few damp, sticky wing beats. A big piece of piecrust was stuck around his neck, and his scales were covered in the greenish apple, but he could almost fly properly despite it. Behind him, he heard a crash and a shout, as the owner of the pie saw the damage he had done. Then, there was a considerably louder crash, which he presumed to be the pie tray being flung after him. He only hoped that Arcania had gotten out of the way.

Wait, what? He didn’t care, as such; he just hoped she had scarpered so he could make the best of the freezing cold. Yes, that was it. He would still have delighted in slitting her throat.

Arcania backed away from the irate woman, trying to suppress a laugh at the whole situation. It was quite funny to her. After all, if she had not wanted it to be touched she should not have put it on the windowsill. "Let me explain," the woman offered, holding up her hands only to have to duck as a pie sailed towards her head. The pie splattered against the wall behind her and Arcania straightened again, pulling a few coins out of her pocket and throwing them towards the woman.

"For the pie!" she called, turning and sprinting off in the same direction the dragon had gone. She watched him make his way along and then, despite the fact that she did not like to use her powers often, turned into a hawk and joined him in the air. She was still larger than the little dragon but she was not thinking about that as she steadied her flight, looking around as she did so.

"Well you are a little trouble maker," she commented with a laugh. "But I must say that made my day." Just keep playing the game Arcania, she told herself. Once you find some information you can get this settled and then move on. Though it is an adorable little creature.

“It was her fault – she shouldn’t leave things so close to the road. It was only a matter of time before someone took it.” He hissed, not looking around. However, it struck him that Arcania’s voice had been closer than it should have been. He turned with an elegant roll, his tail acting as a rudder, before ending up facing a hovering hawk.

Forgetting himself, Dyavol gave a little whimper of fear, and fluttered backwards a little way. Hawks ate rats, but he wouldn’t have been surprised if one decided that a very small dragon was fair game. He shook himself, freeing himself of the pastry blanket he had been wrapped in, and before gathering his senses. If the hawk was going to eat him, it wouldn’t jst be watching him, so there must have been something else going on.

Hold on, there was still the problem of the human. Where was she? He looked down, expecting to see her standing on the road below, but found nothing. He spun around, looking for her, before finally meeting the hawk’s gaze. A thought came to him – a mad, crazy thought, but as the tiny specks of apple over him began to freeze, he would have accepted anything as logical. “Arcania…?” he asked, darting forwards to study the hawk. He didn’t like this – he had to get back to some other dragons as soon as possible.

Arcania chuckled and would have grinned had she been physically able to. As it was the best she could manage was an amused and mischievous glint in her eyes. "Oh, did I forget to mention that?" she asked innocently, backing away from the little dragon slightly. She had never seen such a reaction to her powers before, though she could understand the creature's surprise. "Yes it is me," she replied, simply to put it at ease.

Well, she thought, there is something to remember. Not everyone up here has heard of shapeshifters. The thought intrigued her, for she had seen many strange things during her travels and was beginning to find them commonplace. However that was apparently not the case for everyone, something she filed away in the back of her mind to be used later.

"I agree," she continued nonchalantly. "That woman was simply asking for trouble." Which, in her mind, she really had been. Who would leave such a nice pie out on the windowsill, especially on such a cold day. At the very least it could have frozen over.

Oh, right. She was a shape shifter. Of course. Why had that never crossed his mind? Well, at least he knew she wasn’t going to eat him. And, the fact that she wasn’t just a two-leg made her mildly interesting. He still needed to find another dragon though. If he could, he could tag along with them to the south. After all, the suffering of one little village wasn’t his concern, was it?

“Oh, yeah, she was. Anyway, you don’t know where I can find another dragon, do you? I could do with some company that falls within my own species.” he commented, slightly distantly. Then, as his wings began to freeze over completely, he dived sharply and began to spiral towards the ground. In the warmth flying took enough out of him, and now that his wings were forced to do overtime just to stop him turning into a block of ice it was getting difficult.

As the ground neared, he perched himself on a frozen daisy, and waited for Arcania to catch up. He flexed his leg, and winced as one of his frozen scales cracked. That would be sore when he defrosted. The more he thought about it, the more daunting his situation seemed – he was going to have to stay in the pathetic village until the frost ended, and that meant that he was going to have to put up with the two-legs…

Arcania snapped her wings shut, going into a steep dive. Just as she was about to crash into the ground she flared her wings, screeching as they were yanked mercilessly back by the force of the wind around her. Still she landed softly, only scattering a small amount of snow. Arcania slowly flapped her wings a few times before folding them back, knowing that her shoulders would be sore later.

"I saw a Wolf Dragon sitting on a roof back there," she responded, glancing back over her shoulder. sure enough, the yellow creature was still sitting there, watching them intently. As she watched he stood, spreading his wings, and leaped from the roof, gliding over to them. She was instantly covered in snow when he slid to a halt beside her and she hissed at him while she shook it off.

"Hush woman," Temero growled, his tail swishing from side to side. He had no patience for humans, nor any need for them. Turning to the other dragon he said, "That was a pretty brave stunt you pulled back there." He had not expected the little one to do it, and was impressed by his gumption.

Thank goodness, Dyavol thought, as the wolf dragon landed near them. He relaxed visibly, and sat back on the cold ground to try to warm his front paws. “I would hardly call nicking a bit of pie a stunt – it was just an old woman.” He said, his shoulders forming an arrogant angle across his back. The dive had been a fairly ordinary manoeuvre by his standards, so it never occurred to him that the wolf dragon might have meant that. “Mahlyenki Dyavol, at your service, but I prefer to go simply by Dyavol.” He announced, his tongue almost betraying him and saying the wrong name. It had been hard to stop himself using Lyenki – it had been his pet name for so long, but that side of him was long gone. “And what can I call you?”

He shuffled uncomfortably again, and licked a drop of frozen apple from his wing. He had long since lost feeling in his toes, and was getting seriously concerned about his wingtips too, but it didn’t seem the right time to point that out. And the layer of frost gave him a very shiny appearance, which he was getting to quite like.

Arcania hissed at the wolf dragon, spreading her wings slightly before deciding not to start anything. At least not yet. She wanted to see how things would end up. Temero ignored her, keeping his focus on the smaller dragon. "Temero," he replied shortly. "For now that is all you need to know." Studying the smaller dragon he added, "You are a little small to be out here in this weather. Especially without a layer of fur or something."

Sitting down in the snow and shuffling his wings slightly Temero looked around. "Lovely weather we are having," he commented dryly. "Looks like it is going to be sticking around too. At this rate we might have to move south and stay there." It was not something that he wanted. There were more people down there and more people was the last thing he needed.

“Oh, great. That’s going to be a nuisance.” Dyavol smiled wryly, shaking another layer of frost from his scales. He had to admit that the idea of a fur coat was tempting – he was literally freezing, but it seemed unlikely that he was going to grow one out of nowhere.

Nearby, however, he heard the squeaking of something that did have a nice fur coat. A young mouse, which was far smaller than Dyavol, but still reached his middle when it ran past, was sitting nearby looking quite smug. It made his blood boil (which melted a little of the ice, at least), and he found his barbed tail thrashing against the icy ground. He ducked down low into a hunting crouch, and grinned. The mouse chirped at him again, and he jumped.

His tail spikes made short work of the critter, and he stood proudly over his kill, sniffing at the dead mouse. His tail spikes were bright red, and he licked one cautiously, filling his mouth with the rich, metallic taste. It wasn’t as satisfying as felling a human, but it felt good to have blood on his paws again. He looked up innocently, and went back to just listening to the other two – mainly the dragon, but he was kind of hoping that Arcania would squeal too.

Arcania shook her head slightly in distaste, but she said nothing about what had just happened. Temero, who had eaten rather recently, also ignored the mouse. "What are you doing here?" he growled at Arcania who gave him a level look in return. She remained silent, not feeling up to answering him. Temero's lips curled up in a silent snarl, and he considered attacking the bird human. He knew that he could snap her spine before she could even react but he decided against it, knowing the commotion it would cause.

"Well what are we going to do now?" she asked suddenly, glancing over at the smaller dragon. Temero was studying him as well, wondering how he felt about the whole thing. He did not seem particularly fond of the female, so Temero doubted that he belonged to her, but that did not mean he felt the same way about people in general as Temero did.

“Well, personally I’m trying to find Vythiweiah – you know, for saying she’s a club tail, she’d damned hard to keep track of. But it seems like finding shelter would be a sensible thing to do. After all, it’s freezing out here.” He said, sinking his teeth into the mouse. He hadn’t eaten for a while, and this seemed as good an opportunity as ever – even if it /was/ a bit cold. He took great pleasure from Arcania’s slight shake of her head, and the disgust she seemed to be showing, and chewed his mouthful. At least he wasn’t going to go hungry – he could hear mice and rats scurrying around everywhere.

“And what about you, Temero? How on earth did you wind up here – it’s not like it’s near anything.” He asked, cocking his head slightly. If he was in any luck, he was part of the Maldictus Eice, and would have recognized their leader’s name by now, which would at least earn him some standing with the wolf dragon. And, after all, it wasn’t like he wanted to impress the human, was it?

Temero raised an eyebrow interestedly, studying the smaller dragon. "I agree," he said dryly. "But I hear that club tail is particularly difficult to locate. Perhaps for good reason." Considering the dragon's question Temero sat down in the snow, his tail swishing from side to side, flicking flakes of snow onto Arcania at every sweep. "I have been roaming for a while," he replied finally, "Trying to find something interesting. Which reminds me..."

He glanced over at Arcania who had her wings spread, ready to shake the snow off of them. In one swift motion he pinned her right wing to the ground and stood over her, snarling silently as she opened her beak to screech. "You never saw us," he growled, tail lashing back and forth as he spoke. "And if you know what is best for you this discussion will be entirely forgotten."

He waited until she had nodded slightly before releasing her and letting her fly up to a nearby roof, baring his teeth in a wolfish smile when he noticed the erratic pattern of her flight. Not his fault if he had damaged a few feathers. Well, maybe it was, but he did not care. Neither did he care about the irritated look she gave him before she started to groom her wings.

"Humans," he scoffed quietly. "They are so weak." In all honesty he did not care if Dyavol was part of Maldictus Eice or not, he would still speak his mind. "But you, little one, you need to get out of the snow before you ice over completely."

“Agreed – I can’t imagine what they were ever supposed to be useful for.” Dyavol agreed, before shivering against the cold. The mouse hadn’t been as nice as he had thought, and now that his claws, tail and jaws were nice and gory, he was ready to leave it to the other scavengers. And he certainly did need to get out of the cold – his wings were turning an alarming, brittle shade of blue.

“Thanks. I’m not exactly suited to arctic conditions.” He laughed, cracking a final layer of ice from his body. It left a shell that formed an almost perfect duplicate of him on the icy ground, and made him realise just how mush frost he was accumulating.

“There has to be a hayloft near here, right? Those are always warm, and generally full of birds nests to settle into, ready made.” He suggested, ignoring Arcania as much as he could. He genuinely didn’t care what happened – he may not have been on top-evil form, but he wasn’t going to waste his breath on a biped. It never even crossed his mind.

Temero nodded slightly in agreement. "Some seem to think they make good companions," he replied, his tail still twitching at the very tip. "I think they have lost their minds, but then they think the same of us." Noticing the ice shell Temero drew in a deep breath and released it in a blast of warm air that melted it quickly. The wolf dragon chuckled quietly in amusement and then looked around, scanning the street.

"One would expect so," he agreed, looking for a barn or at least an easily accessible attic. Well... there. He saw a building with a few loose boards over an open window. While it might not be as warm as other places it was the nearest. "Up there," Temero said, indicating the window with his nose. "Can you get there?" he asked the smaller dragon as he spread his wings. It was not that he did not think the dragon could fly, he was just slightly bothered by the little one's freezing wings.

Dyavol sighed as the warm air reached him and melted the ice beside him. Then, he turned his gaze to the open window. “Hmm, I think so. If I fly fast enough, the ice won’t be able to freeze onto me too quickly.” He didn’t feel like commenting on Temero’s last comment – it was just a given fact that some dragons were quite mad, and that didn’t need outlining.

While his scales were still warm, he sprang from the ground, and beat his wings furiously. They moved as a blur, and he rose in quick, jerky steps. Then, pointing his nose at the window, he dashed towards it. His wing tips gathered tiny icicles, but, just as his wing membranes froze over, he landed on the messy windowsill, shaking off the flakes of ice as well as he could. It was warm, and a fire burned in the hearth, but Dyavol could see no sign of the house’s owner. He didn’t want a repeat of the apple-pie incident, so he ducked into the room quickly to hide himself. Only then did he turn his gaze back to the window o see what was happening outside.

Temero spread his wings wide and leaped into the air, pumping hard to get himself aloft and then slowing down for more control. Landing on the windowsill he clung to the boards with his front paws, realizing belatedly that he would not fit through at present time. With a sigh he reached over and grabbed one of the boards, pulling it free with a quiet crack. Looking up he threw the board onto the roof and crawled into the room after the smaller dragon.

Jumping down from the window Temero looked around, his tail swishing from side to side lazily. No one seemed to be around at the moment, but he knew that could change quickly so he began searching the rooms, trying to find a way into the attic. He knew there had to be one, the roof was far higher than the ceiling. After a few minutes he saw the string dangling from the ceiling and studied it, trying to decide whether he should hide up there or underneath a bed. While the wolf dragon was not huge he could not exactly hide in a vase like the other dragon. Returning to the living room he lay down on the hearth to let the fire warm his fur, ready to leap up quickly should someone return. "I do not think they will notice that, do you?" he asked, indicating the window.

“Well, humans can be pretty unobservant, but I wouldn’t count on it.” He called, from his cozy spot in a fold of blanket nearby. It really was nice in there, and he found himself glad of the fire, at least for the moment. And, if needs be, the human that lived there could be dealt with…

“Well, this is toasty. Now what do we do?” he asked after a moment of silence. He wriggled out of the blanket until his wings were free, and shook the drops of now-melted ice from them so that his spot didn’t get damp, and then struggled with his tail for a minute. The spikes had lodged themselves into the fabric, and were pulling quite badly. That hurt, and before long he realized that he had not only ripped a gash in the blanket, but caused a few of the scales around the steel pins to split, revealing delicate, pink flesh underneath. Luckily it didn’t bleed, but it did sting a little…

» Mystery and Mayhem (Stormkatz vs Eldarwen)
» Average Jilurian Antics. (Stormkatz, Artel and Zay)
» Aiealoa's Spring Herald (Female, Nighie) [WIP]
» StormKatz's Eggs/Dragons
» A meeting in the City {Artemis~StormKatz}