{Spirit} guess this'll be untitled, then... {Katz}

Well, we have a generic town with a foresty bit outside, it's mid morning methinks, and that's about it. You can start if you have an idea, or I'll intro after tea Smile

I'll be using Jackdaww and Measle, just FYI Smile

Dawn had her eyes closed tightly as Taya flew through the clouds, wishing that she were safely back on the ground. The woman had not been flying for long, something that was painfully obvious to both her dragon and anyone who saw her. As it was, she very much preferred walking. Why oh why did I agree to this, she asked herself, clinging to Taya's fur as hard as she could. This seemed like a horrible idea to her.

To her green Antler Dragon Taya, it seemed even worse. Dawn was her first rider, and though she knew the woman was just new at this and would eventually relax she still was tempted to flip over and watch her plunge to the earth. Not that she would do that of course. Looking down the young female dragon spotted a small town nestled peacefully beside a forest. "I found a place to land," she announced, angling her wings and going into a sharp dive without thinking about it properly. Her motion was greeted by a shriek of fright from the woman on her back, making her roll her eyes slightly.

Still, despite Dawn's thoughts to the contrary, they landed safely in the middle of the town square. Perhaps it would have been politer to land outside and walk in, but Taya's patience had been pushed to the limits already and she cared very little about politeness. Dawn slid off of her with relief and looked around, wondering what she should do next.

When the large antler dragon landed, Jackdaww was practically oblivious. It was only when a black head covered in tiny blue scales nudged him in the arm that he even noticed anything had changed.

“Measle, what is it?” he complained, sheathing his sword. He had been training in a convenient, dark alley for most of the morning, and now he was sore and grumpy. The small dragon beside him rolled his eyes, and nodded towards the square.

“Something big and greenish landed over there. I thought you might be interested, that’s all.” He winked, turning in that direction with a flick of his tail. Jackdaww let his scowl slide from his face, and chased after Measle eagerly, racing him to the square.

They arrived in a flurry of shoving and panting, before giving a final laugh and straightening themselves out. The greenish thing appeared to be an antler dragon, which weren’t too unusual, but it was at least something to stop Jackdaww practising any longer. He drove Measle to distraction, with all his fake fighting, and the chance to meet some new people would be a welcome possibility. Measle set off at a much calmer pace into the square proper, and looked preoccupied near one corner, waiting impatiently for Jackdaww.

Taya looked around, hearing some sort of commotion nearby, but when she did not spot anything strange she relaxed, returning her attention to her rider who was still catching her breath. This will take some getting used to, the Antler dragon thought impatiently, shaking her head slightly. She wanted to get a look around, but was unwilling to leave Dawn to do so. Strangely enough she felt like the woman would only get in trouble if left to her own devices.

Dawn, on the other hand, was tentative to leave her dragon because she wanted the protection the creature offered. She had no idea what the village was like, nor whether the people were friendly. Until that was established she preferred to have someone to back her up. Upon performing an initial scan of her surroundings she concluded that it was peaceful enough, but there seemed to be few people about. Well, she would find someone eventually, but for now she decided to wait and see if anyone came to greet her.

Jackdaww finally twigged on that Measle wanted him to follow, and set off into the square in a mess of long, slender arms and legs. However, he had no reservations about introducing himself, and veered off to the left to greet the dragon and rider pair that seemed to have just landed. He had to admit that, from seeing Measle land, they had done a good job. He walked casually up to them, and bowed deeply.

“Hello there, I’m Jackdaww. And you?” he asked as he stood up from the bow. Measle saw him, and gave an audible sigh, before plodding over to rescue Jackdaww from the embarrassment he was certain to bring upon himself. He stood beside him silently, standing up on the tips of his talons, but the top of his crested head still only reached Jackdaww’s ear. He felt a little intimidated by the antler dragon before them, but stood to attention dutifully all the same.

Finally, deciding that silence was not a good tactic, Measle added a brief introduction too. “And I am Measle.” His voice was soft, but he liked to tell himself that it had been intentional. He definitely wasn’t scared, oh no. That would have been silly…

Dawn studied the man with interest before dipping into a curtsey herself. "Greetings, I am Dawn," she replied, straightening. "It is a pleasure to meet you." Of course, she did not know that for sure yet, but for the moment it was better than standing around with nothing to do and no idea of where to go. Tucking a strand of long brown hair behind her ear she studied the pair with a steady gaze in her blue eyes.

"I am Taya," the antler dragon replied, also studying the pair. She was more trusting than Dawn was, but knowing that she had to keep an eye out for her rider somewhat tempered that. However, the very fact that they had bothered to introduce themselves gave them many points in her mind. "We will need a place to stay," she continued, deciding to take the initiative from her rider. "Do you know of any that can accommodate dragons?" It was a rare place that did not, but she had found them before much to her dismay. Better to rely on these two, who probably knew their way around. Better than she would for sure.

Measle looked up at Taya, daunted. However, Jackdaww seemed ready to humiliate himself early, and attempted conversation. “Erm, I know a few bars that could accommodate Measle, but at a push he can sleep under a table in a tavern. You might find somewhere with a barn though – the people seem welcoming at least.” He smiled. Measle snorted, and snapped at Jackdaww’s sleeve jokingly.

“Jack, stop talking. Please.” He whispered, before turning to Dawn and Taya. “We have only been here two days – we move around a lot – so I couldn’t say. Avoid the west side of town, though – it can be pretty rough, and the thugs down there don’t like new people.” He advised, ignoring Jackdaww’s disgruntled expression. Well, for a moment.

Jackdaww held himself while Measle finished speaking, but as soon as he had stopped, he flung himself at the little lightning storm, wrapping his exceptionally thin arms around his chest and tackling him to the ground. The pair rolled over one another, each laughing and struggling to get to his feet. They made an odd pair, and must have looked utterly ridiculous rolling on the dusty ground in a relatively crowded square, but that was just how they were.

Dawn watched the pair with wide eyes for a moment and then laughed, which made Taya look at her in surprise. While they had not been together for long she had rarely heard her rider laugh. The woman clapped a hand over her mouth, her shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. "Well we appreciate your concern for us," Taya said, unsure if they could even hear her they were having so much fun. "But we can handle things." Still, she made a note to stick to the east side. She wanted to stay as far away from trouble as possible.

"Where have you come from?" she asked, raising her voice slightly while she tilted her head to the side, studying the pair. If they really were such travelers they would know a lot about the area which Dawn and Taya would need to know. They had no real destination in mind, simply spending time getting to know each other. Still, Dawn wanted to see the sights, having led a sheltered life until she had met Taya and gotten away from it all.

“Ooh, that’s a good question!” Jackdaww exclaimed, abruptly pulling away from Measle and dusting himself down. Measle did likewise, and preened his scales for a moment to try and retain a little dignity. “Hmm…let’s see. Originally we must have come from somewhere near the capital, but I’d say we’ve visited most places this side of Racksom.” He boasted. He knew, in fact, that he had come from Didienne itself, exactly thirteen years and ten months ago, but he wasn’t going to divulge the slightly tragic story of his early life to a complete stranger.

“Yes, we’ve visited every town from Quinsilla to the Amelle falls. However, we have been at it for some time.” Measle chuckled, his laughter rumbling deep in his chest and triggering little sparks of harmless electricity to dance between his fangs like a miniature storm cloud. Jackdaww nodded, privately counting them up on his fingers to one side, grinning widely. They had little to call their own, and liked to take pride in what they had seen at least. Oh, and Jackdaww liked to take pride in his royal chain mail (albeit stolen) whenever the opportunity arose.

Dawn smiled again, amused by the pair. Taya was as well, but she wanted information most of all. Both of them were amazed by the pair's traveling experience. Now these are some people we could stand to keep around Taya thought, tilting her head to one side slightly. Not that she would tell Dawn that, it would only make her nervous.

"Well seeing as we have only just arrived and you two have been here for a while, perhaps you could show us around a little bit?" the Antler Dragon asked, shuffling her wings slightly. It was an honest request actually. The dragon knew they would only get lost if they decided to wander around, and she wanted as many people to watch over Dawn as possible.

“Yeah, sure. There’s this really great tav- hey!” he shouted, as Measle stepped on his foot.
“What was that for?” he demanded, glaring. Measle shook his head in exasperation, and took over speaking while Jackdaww stood nursing his foot.

“We would be delighted to. Is there anything you’d like to see in particular?” Jackdaww would only lead us to the cheapest ale in the town, he added to himself, but forced himself to keep quiet. Jackdaww seemed to catch on why he had been stepped on, and piped down, simply nodding to re-enforce Measle’s offer.

“There might be a market in the other square.” Measle added helpfully, trying to remember how to get to the other, larger town square. Last time they had been to a market, the people on the stalls had given him free sausage, and meat pies. That had been a good day…

Taya nodded with a slight smile, catching on to what Jackdaww had been about to say. Human males she thought with a mental chuckle. Humans in general amused her, and this one was no exception. "We really do not have anything definite in mind," Taya said, glancing at her rider, wondering if she was going to speak. Dawn was not normally one to chat very much, which Taya was trying to work on.

"The market sounds fine," the woman replied, brushing a strand of long brown hair behind her ear. She could tell that it was in slight disarray, but there was nothing she could do about it at the moment. At least putting it in a ponytail helped somewhat, she had discovered that through trial and error, but it still was not perfect. "Do you two have a place to stay?" she asked, figuring that she might be able to stay in the same place if it was nice enough. Or at least somewhere nearby. She really did not want to wander around aimlessly.

Measle nodded, and wordlessly set off at a gentle pace towards the road they had just come from. He could remember the way to the market square well enough, and he remembered that it was vaguely that way.

“We’re staying in a tavern near Fifth Street, but it’s a bit of a dump. We’ve got the hayloft to ourselves though.” Jackdaww said helpfully, before bowing his head and indicating for Dawn to go first. He was being as careful as he could with his manners, despite the fact that, in the back of his mind he had little respect for women. They had their uses, but deep down that was all he saw. Luckily there was a lot of skin and knight’s code over the top of those thoughts.

He had no idea where Measle was going to take them, but he hadn’t been paying attention to where they had been walking all morning. In the woods, he had to be on alert at all times, so in cities he let himself relax. Measle hated that about him, and he knew that quite well, but that was how it had always been since they left the castle. He refused to let his mind dwell on the memories from fourteen years past, but he couldn’t help pining for days when it had all been a little simpler.

"A dump we can handle," Taya replied, though she nodded slightly in thanks. There was no way they were going to be able to room together, that much she knew. All the dragon really wanted was to know that her rider would be safe wherever she left her. The pair seemed friendly and nonthreatening, but she wanted to be completely sure before she left Dawn with them.

Dawn nodded in agreement with Taya's words as she followed Measle, glancing back to make sure the others were following. In truth, she was not sure how well Taya would fit in the close quarters of the town. Taya was not an exceptionally large dragon, but she was still fairly big, which could make walking around rather difficult at times.

"Food should be our first priority Dawn," Taya commented, lagging towards the back of the group. She was careful to watch her tail to avoid hitting an innocent bystander or shop front. The last thing she wanted to do was cause trouble. Unless someone decided to start something of course.

It wasn’t far to the square, and (as Measle had expected) the market was in full swing. There were stalls selling anything you could name, and the occasional roped off section with a performer inside. It was loud, and didn’t exactly suit Measle, but Jackdaww looked thrilled.

“We’re here.” Measle announced, stepping into the open square and moving to one side so that the others could see. However, as one of the stall owners held out a tray of sausage and shouted ‘samples!’ he couldn’t help himself. Measle wandered off into the crowd, helping himself to the little samples, and decided that the others could look after themselves for a while.

Jackdaww followed on obediently behind, and thought through what he was going to do that day. Ah well, he though, Measle will have some idea, and the market sounds fun. However, as they walked, he couldn’t help his thoughts drifting. He clicked his sword out of its sheath to about half-way, and turned it to see the inside of the handle. There was a message there, but he couldn’t read it. It wasn’t that he couldn’t read, but the inscription was messy and unintelligible. He studied it as he walked, and was oblivious to Measle disappearing into the market.

However, just moments later, an oddly placed corner of one building brought him back to reality. He walked into it, head first and fell backward with a clatter as his sword hit the ground beside him, and a metallic chinking noise as his chain mail crumpled around him. Oh, and a dull thud as his head his the ground behind him. He didn’t hit the ground hard, just enough to hurt, but he still looked like a fool.

Taya paused in the entrance to the square, suddenly aware of how crowded it was. "Um... I should probably wait over here," she said hesitantly, not wanting to leave Dawn by herself since Measle had wandered off and Jackdaww seemed otherwise preoccupied. Still, she had little choice because people were already starting to complain about having to go around her. So, to avoid causing too much chaos, she unfolded her wings and jumped up onto the nearest roof, perching carefully to avoid sending any roof tiles down on the crowd below. The building groaned slightly under her weight but it held, though she watched it carefully.

"Oh, are you all right?" Dawn exclaimed, going over to Jackdaww and offering him her hand. Not that she could really help him up. If she tried she would probably end up on the ground, but that did not stop her from offering. She was always one to help other people, whether or not she knew them or would get anything out of it. "What happened?" she asked, having been keeping an eye on her dragon and not on the others. On the roof Taya shook her head slightly. Oh what have we gotten into, she wondered.

“It was the damn wall – it walked into me!” he hissed, rubbing his head. Gladly he accepted the offered hand, and leapt upwards in one fluid movement, picking up his sword as he did so. His exceptionally light weight would have meant that Dawn barely felt him pull himself, up, but he had surprised himself before. He dusted off the blade, and slid it carefully back into its sheath, relaxing as he heard it click into place. If it had been damaged, he didn’t know what he would have done.

“My thanks.” he smiled, picking up his manners again and dusting himself down one last time. He was a little embarrassed, but since his clumsiness got him into trouble regularly, he was getting used to it. At least this time he hadn’t broken anything, or given himself concussion.

“The market smells good – we should probably go and get some of the samples before they run out.” He suggested, rocking onto his toes and back a couple of times and brushing a speck of grime from the hilt of his sword with one finger. He was eager to forget the embarrassing incident with the wall, and catch up with Measle. Speaking of Measle, he thought, where has he gotten to?

Dawn was surprised at how light he was, realizing that he practically did not need her help. Not that she could really have lifted him had he needed her to, but she thought it polite to offer. She smiled at his response and nodded in agreement. "I saw it," she replied seriously, playing along. "It completely did." Looking around she noticed that while the market appeared crowded at first glance it was simply because the place was rather small.

"All right," she agreed, returning her gaze to him. "I have no idea where Measle went, though I believe he said something about samples as well." Dawn glanced up at the roof where Taya was perched, and the antler dragon nodded slightly and rested her head on her paws, closing her eyes. Well, Dawn thought, she must trust these people a little bit at least. The thought made her relax and she smiled again, turning back to Jackdaww. "Please, lead the way," she said, stepping out of his path.

Jackdaww bowed from his hips, and pranced ahead on feather-light toes. “Yeah, that sounds like him. Great minds think alike, and all that.” He muttered, half to himself, and wandered into the crush of stalls. It smelt wonderful, and his stomach growled to remind him how little he had eaten recently. They had only really stopped here to pick up supplies, and even that tended to be just a loaf of bread, or some fruit. Not that he ever paid for it – he had little enough money, and he liked to save that for ale. It was easy enough to slip an apple into one pocket, or smuggle a stick of fresh bread, but ale? That didn’t come for free.

Reaching out a hand, he grabbed a handful of the tasters from one tray and stuffed some into his pocket. That wasn’t stealing, and he intended to take advantage of it as much as he could. Then, taking a bite of the odd little pie that had been offered, he turned back around to face Dawn. “Try something – it’s really good!” he shouted, finishing the sample and looking over the stalls next to him.

Dawn stuck close to Jackdaww as he made his way through the crowds, not wanting to lose him as well. Though the scents coming from the stalls were completely appetizing she was hesitant about trying anything. Still, noticing how Jackdaww was scarfing down samples, she shrugged and tried a small roll that turned out to be filled with some sort of spiced meat. Finding it to be completely delicious she picked up a few more and continued on to the next stall, nibbling on a roll as she went.

"You are right," she agreed, making sure she did not wander far from him. In fact, she was surprised that she had not thought of doing this before. The sheer amount of money she had lost over the years startled her and she shook her head slightly with a wry smile.

“I’ve always thought the market was a rather good use of the squares – they can get terribly boring, after all.” He smiled, occasionally sticking out a hand to retrieve a bun or something from the table. He was glad that he had deep pockets, because there was plenty to fill them with. And of course, in such a small, crowded space, who would notice one missing bun or tart?

“So, what brings you here, then?” Jackdaww asked pleasantly, producing a bright red apple from one pocket and offering it to Dawn. He hadn’t been around other people for what seemed like a century, but now that he was back in a town, he was really enjoying himself, even if Measle /had/ vanished.

Looking around, he made a mental note of the bars around the square, just in case he still had enough coins to buy some cheap ale in the bottom of his pack. He was partial to the very watery ale around here – he was probably the only one in town who would refuse a tankard of best dark in return for the cheap stuff, even if both were free. There was something… woody about it’s taste, and it suited a forest-dweller like him down to the ground.

"I would not really know," Dawn replied softly. "Generally I stay away from the markets. i never had much use for them before." Which was true. Often she went into specialized shops. She simply found it easier that way, not wanting to spend endless hours wandering around when she could just as easily get something in five minutes. However, now that she knew how many cool things one could find in a market she would not make that decision again unless it was urgent.

Accepting his offered apple with a nod and quiet murmur of thanks Dawn considered how to answer his question. "For most of my life I lived at home, until one day I heard a noise deep in the woods behind our house. My parents were busy so I went to investigate myself. I ended up deep in the woods and there I found Taya. She was injured, so for weeks I nursed her back to health and, as soon as she could fly again, I left. My parents have no idea where I am, they only know that I left." She paused and shrugged slightly, "So now taya and I are wandering around, trying to decide what to do with our lives."

Glancing over at Jackdaww Dawn blushed slightly, not having planned on telling him her whole past, or most of it anyway. "Anyway, what about you?" she asked, trying to divert the attention to herself while she began to nibble on the apple.

Jackdaww paused. The memory was painful, and simply the unreadable message in the handle of his sword was enough to keep the old wound from healing over.

“We’re trying to find… someone. But right now we’re just sightseeing.” He said. Something about the way Dawn had said ‘my parents have no idea where I am’ had made him feel uneasy. His father must still think he was at the castle, and as for his mother, she had no idea whatsoever. But at least Dawn knew where she could find hers – Jackdaww’s had vanished seemingly into thin air.

Well, he couldn’t tell Dawn that. It would be… weird, and he wasn’t sure he could face up to it himself. So, he flicked the switch in the back of his mind back to peppy, and soldiered on. “We live mainly out in the open, so this is just a pit stop, really. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get decent ale in the middle of the woods?” he laughed, moving through another few stalls.

Dawn glanced over at him, sensing his pause, but she said nothing about it, respecting his privacy. She was curious about this person they were looking for, but she again decided against asking about it. "Same here," she replied. "About the sightseeing part anyway. Neither of us really wants to settle down just yet." Which in her case was probably because she had just gotten out into the world not that long ago.

Continuing to follow him Dawn smiled slightly at his question. "Well I did live out there for quite some time, so I would imagine it is not that easy though I have no real use for ale myself." IT was not that she refused to drink it, she just saw no point in it. "Taya and I, well we try to stay close to small towns and villages. Cities are just too big for me and Taya doesn't fit in them very well so..." She shrugged slightly, looking around for anything interesting. "Neither of us are really into being in large groups of people," she finished softly.

She had good reason for it, having lived with her parents out in the woods for most of her life she had no real cause to get used to having to deal with a lot of people at once, and so had never been comfortable with doing so. She was trying to work on it though, which helped Taya who had no such problem but was beginning to develop it simply because her rider did.

“I used to love big groups of people. Back in Didienne I knew every single person in the castle.” He smiled proudly. How things had changed since then. He wondered if anyone would still remember him if he returned now, but he doubted it.

Then, he realised what he had said. Damn, he had never meant to let on that he had come from the capital, and had meant even less to admit that he had lived within the castle. Dang and blast.

“We don’t do too well around people now though.” He finished nervously, hoping that Dawn wouldn’t pick up on his lapse. “They’re too noisy. But they make damned good ale. The speciality brews are great.” He smiled. The speciality mixes were renowned for the ridiculously low ratio of liquor to water, and were generally considered a rip-off, but Jackdaww loved them.

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