Paradox gave a small squeak as the large dragon took her him his claws. She felt herself become lifted off the ground and she tried not to struggle, she didn't want him to drop her. She was lifted higher and higher and then he brought her over the nest. She waited patiently for him to put her down, but he shifted violently onto his belly and set her on his scales. She folded her legs under her, so only her hocks and knees touched him. She didn't want to cut him on accident with her hooves.

She felt his breathing, rising and falling in his lungs, and the warmth emitting from his body. His scales were slightly slippery, but she doubted she would fall off, his chest was very wide. She slung her bag over to her front and laid her human half on it, head resting on her arms. "Yes Thalron," she said, a smile on her face. "This is very nice." She'd be dry in no time with the heat coming off of him. She flipped her ears back and closed her eyes slightly.

"So tell me about your kind Thalron?" She asked. "What kinds of dragons are there? What are they like?" She curled her tail over her hind legs and matched his breathing. Believe it or not, she was quite comfortable up here on the dragon. 

Thalron shifted this way and that, but slowly and generally in small amounts to avoid disturbing her. Eventually he settled down more though and just lay there, from the feeling of his scales though her hooves were not really in danger of anything except perhaps superficial scratches on them. He was definitely warm though, and soon after he set her down it almost looked like he had fallen asleep. He snapped out of it instantly when she spoke though, and craned his neck up to look at her. "Oh, umm… Good." He looked a little unsure of what he should say, but he was also a little lost in other thoughts as he looked at her. 

…Which were easy to distract him from. "Umm… I don't really know much about my kind really, I never met my parents, or seen others of my type." he let out a light chortle and glanced away, it didn't really bother him that he never met more of his kind but he was wondering if he was normal or not. "I haven't met any other dragons either! So now we both know the same amount of dragons." He grinned toothily and looked back over to her, sniffing once or twice before he decided to see if she'd let him pet her back with one hand… Usually he'd just do it, but she was being polite so he might as well return the favor. He wasn't asking about that verbally, but moved his hand slightly above her and paused with it to see if she'd show some sign of objection. Then continued with answers. "I mostly just hunt, for food, and shiny things… And wander around. I breath lightning though, and dig really well, and fly really well too! What are centaurs like? Do you eat hay?" He knew horses ate other things, but hadn't really heard of them being carnivorous before… Or did she eat like a human?

The place seemed rather calm for the moment, like the depressing atmosphere had slowly become more tired than oppressive. There were occasional bird sounds, or perhaps screams, but they were far enough off that they weren't so unsettling. Occasionally something would splash in the water below them, or a snake would slither towards- and then quickly away from them. If she had quick eyes, she might also notice an occasional spark or little arc of energy between the scales on his neck.

Paradox sighed, quite content to be where she was, even if it was on the belly of a dragon a dozen feet above the ground in a tree. She felt him shift his body under her, and adjusted accordingly. She sighed, almost happily and stared at him, his large scaled muzzle several feet away from her own. "If I make you uncomfortable, just tell me and I'll move." She said through a sleepy smile. It was very strange, how at ease she was in the presence of a dragon. Thalron wasn't anything like what she had expected a dragon to be, well, he wasn't trying to eat her in one bite anyway.

He talked to her and she focused her ears forward in his direction. He didn't know much about his kind, but from what she'd read, neither did she, or really anyone. She felt his warm breath over her face as he sniffed her again, she was still surprised he was still curious about her, but then again, not many of her kind had seen a dragon before, or lived to talk about it anyway. She chuckled quietly at his joke and felt his side shift slightly. She watched one of his arms come up and held a paw over her body. She looked at it hesitantly, then sat up and reached for it with her hands. She grabbed one of his fingers, the claws on each finger were as big as both of her hands put together.

She stroked it gently, glancing at him for any sign of uncomfort or desire for her to draw away. She ran her fingers gently over the blue scales. They were cool to her touch and remarkably smooth, like metal. They weren't the shiniest or the prettiest but they were strong and protected him from the outside world. She felt a smile break on her face as she messed with his paw, the textures were so alien and yet so familiar. Carefully, she guided his massive paw over and let him run his claws through her mane, eventually letting him touch her equine back and flanks. Her skin rippled slightly as his claws slide over her fur.

She her him ask a question and grinned. "No, we don't eat hay," she said lightly. "We will eat it if we have to, but we do have certain preferences. We eat berries, roots, herbs, and wild fruit and vegetables we find in the forest. We make tea out of a few different kinds of trees. When we can, we also eat meat, like horses, though much more often. We actively hunt, usually in groups and flush out deer and rabbits and things. It's usually harder for us to hunt by ourselves without the herd…" She drifted off and stared at the fog. "We can eat pretty much anything if we have to," she finished.

"Speaking of food." She closed her eyes and said several words under her breath. A large log nearby turned into a freshly killed deer and she opened her eyes. "That is yours." She said looking at him. She curled up under his hand and folded her ears back. She tucked her legs under her, resting her head on her arms, and closed her eyes.

It was hard for Thalron to think of a time he actually felt uncomfortable from objects or people while sleeping, as anyone that spent a good deal of time with him would eventually learn, he could sleep almost anywhere. He was not even above falling asleep /while/ flying. The main things that could actually disturb his rest were generally more atmospheric. Low temperatures were the worst, and very high humidity… Though ironically, he didn't actually mind rain at all. Regardless of those facts though, he was perfectly fine supporting a more or less equine body on his chest. It didn't even seem to disturb the slow rhythm of his breathing, which lifted, and lowered her. It was obvious that either he was tired, or her sleepy signals were causing him to calm as well, as the breathing was steadily becoming slower and more drawn out as they rested there.

He was surprised when she began to examine his hand, but he didn't seem to mind it at all. He tilted it this way or that as she examined it, allowing her to manipulate it as she wished. His claws were not exceptionally sharp edged, but they were very hard and solid feeling, meant to withstand the great forces which he could apply to them. It amused him how tiny and soft her hands were in comparison, not that it was necessarily a bad thing, just different. Despite the thick scales he still had a somewhat sensitive touch, and seemed to enjoy being stroked somewhat. When she actually let him 'pet' her he seemed even more pleased, and gently stroked her fur. He used the softer area of his hands, rather than the claws to do so, though the base of them could be felt along part of her side from time to time.

"I eat pretty much anything! Though… I don't really like fish, but I still eat it if I have to." though his definition of 'have to' meant if it was in front of him. He was just very unlikely to actually go fishing. "Mostly I eat meat, unless there's nothing to hunt." His stomach quietly growled as they talked about food, sounding like a very muffled quake below her. He was always hungry, even moments after eating he often felt hungry again, though knowledge of this had been ingrained in his brain enough that he knew how much food he could reasonably expect to eat without getting sick… So that happened… Less often now. It still meant he was more preoccupied with food than many sentient creatures, and the mention of it often brought about nearly verbal complaints from his stomach.

When the log turned into a deer, his eyes went rather wide, and he looked at her, then at the log, before leaning his head over and sniffing at it. It… Smelled like meat… He decided to trust that it was indeed meat, and not an illusion. "Thanks!" He rumbled out happily, before snatching it up in his jaws. He barely seemed to chew it, but for a few moments the crunching of bones were heard, snapping and disassembling the carcass with somewhat frightening ease before it was swallowed. His stomach gurgled for a few moments afterwards, but after that he was mostly silent as it looked like she had gone to sleep. Silently he shifted just a little bit, moving the weight partially off of one side to bring out his wing which he wrapped over her. It completely obscured the outside world once it was drawn over, and muffled much of the sound, but mostly it kept out many of the biting insects and disturbing screams which he seemed almost oblivious to.

Paradox awoke from her sleep and looked around her. The sky above her was blue, then she realized that it was Thalron's wing and not the clouds. She followed the dragon's neck up to his head, where he appeared to be resting peacefully. Gently, without trying to disturb him, she stood and pulled his wing back a little so she could see the outside world. The sky was a dull grey and fog drifted past them. In the distance she still heard faint screams, they never seemed to cease.

She sighed and turned back to Thalron. She saw the deer she had created was gone and was glad he had accepted her gift. There probably wasn't much to hunt in this swamp. Carefully, she slid of his side and landed next to his folded up wing. He was right, the nest was full of holes and she stepped cautiously. She didn't want to put a hoof in a hole and get stuck, or worse, fall through. She walked to the edge of the nest and looked down at the water below. She wasn't going to jump this.

She went to the edge of the nest where a large vine was hanging down. She grabbed and pulled, testing its strength. It held. She inched her hindquarters off the edge of the nest and slipped down the side of the tree. She landed in the murky water with a splash, mud covering her legs and belly. She flicked her ears back, slightly disgusted. She forgot how cold and sticky the mud and water were in this swamp. She looked up at Thalron, only his nose was visible from down on the ground. 

"Thalron," she called up to him. "Let's go find that sword of yours." She swished her tail, flinging mud back on the trees. 

Thalron was a pretty sound sleeper in some ways, if the noises or scents in the area were things he had deemed as not important, he tended to just ignore them… When Paradox woke up, and began to move about, for a moment his mind roused him, but when he felt what was going on he just fell right back asleep. He probably could have slept through her walking around on his chest, or poking his face, but she didn't seem to be going through terribly great lengths to wake him so he stayed asleep. The splash, was a little interesting to him, and it wasn't long after that he heard her voice.

He had a sword..? The trees creaked slightly as they felt his weight shifting, a few small broken branches fell down into the swamp below, scaring some scurrying critters away. It took a moment or two for him to actually get up, his legs stretching out skywards for a moment or two, then slowly he rolled over to his side, and then all the way back to his feet. He shook, sending small debris from his scales and seeming to shake a little bit of sense back into his head. "You're going to be a green and brown Hors-…Centaur by the time you get out of here." He walked up to the edge of the 'nest' and leaned down to peer at her, he still looked and sounded half asleep. With a… terribly graceful step he slipped off the tree and landed chest/face first in the swamp below, his hind end still somewhat in the trees. He barely missed the centaur below, splashing water everywhere, and just lying there for a moment.

…Bubbles came up from the water where his nostrils were mostly submerged, then he grunted and slowly slid the rest of the way down, and stood up. Shaking some of the mud from him, he was pretty glad his scales weren't as good at catching stuff as fur. "Sword…" He glanced around, then turned to the direction he had been going. He wasn't the smartest dragon out there, but one of the things he was good at was geography and such. He knew the area he had searched already, and more or less had a plan on where to keep looking. He waited a moment before sort of stumbling in that direction, his mind getting started somewhat slowly at first, but pretty quickly his gait and posture began to become more reminiscent of those that walked the land of the living. "Do you know why some of these trees smell like people..?" he asked with a very wide yawn- which caught a few insects that he ended up coughing out on the ground.

Paradox watched the large dragon awake in the nest far above her. She heard the trees creak as he moved and he stretched out his legs. The gesture reminding her of a young foal. He stood up and looked down at her. He still had a look of sleep about his eyes and didn't seem fully aware yet. She smirked at him when he almost called her a horse. She saw him step to the edge and he suddenly slipped off, his front have plunging downward. Paradox skipped backwards several paces and he smashed face first into the water. 

Mud and swamp water flew at and over her, engulfing her body in the wet slime. She just had time to cover her face with her arm before the wave met her. She groaned softly and shook the water off her arms. Shaking her head and mane she walked up to the dragon. "Thalron, are you alright?" She asked, ready to move quickly if needed to stay out of his way. She flicked her tail, mud flying off the end. She touched his neck, as his head was underwater. She felt his muscles shift and leaped back as the rest of him flopped into the swamp. 

She stared at him for a moment before he roused himself and stood upright. He shook himself and started walking away from the nest. She assumed he knew where he was going and trotted by his side, one hand on his foreleg. She heard him ask about the trees around them and she perked her ears forward. "I don't know really," she said quietly. This place still gave her the creeps and she shuddered slightly. "I know some elves can turn themselves into plants and things, but I didn't think it could be permanent like these appear to be."

She slipped from his side to one of the trees they were talking about and looked at it. It came up to her ribcage and wasn't very big. She hesitated, before touching it with her hand, running her fingers over the smooth old bark. She used her nail and scratched the surface and a new scent entered her nose. It wasn't the smell of a natural plant, or a regular tree, or even the swamp itself. The tree smelled like a human. The scent was faint and old, but definitely human. She backed up and looked at the entirety of the tree. Now that she genuinely looked at it, it did look like a person. She covered her mouth and stepped back and felt her hindquarters hit Thalron's leg. "They're people."

Thalron didn't really hear her question about whether he was alright, as his head had been underwater. Mud apparently made decent earplugs. Luckily, while he was rather clumsy while half asleep he was also somewhat slow so whatever dangerous bits moved near her there was plenty of time to avoid them. It was obvious he was waking up quickly enough though, and as he walked he began to be a bit more careful about accidentally bumping into Paradox or the like. 

"Elves can do that? I wonder if I've eaten any elf-trees…" he stared off into space for a moment, but perked up his ears a bit and looked back to her as she continued to speak. He even stopped as she went over to investigate one of the trees, of course he had smelled it before which is why he had brought it up… But he hadn't really recognized them as people, but just creepy trees that were sort of human-ish in shape. A small rumble resounded from his throat, it was almost a purr, but sounded reassuring anyways. "Is… That bad? There are a lot of them like that." He gestured to some of the larger ones that were up ahead and resembled humans less than the smaller one she had found. "There are lots of ropes and things grown into the trees higher up too." He could tell she was either horrified or disgusted, or perhaps both.

The idea wasn't that creepy to him, though it was frightening to think what could turn someone into a tree… Would they turn into trees if they stayed here too long? Maybe if he didn't find the sword in a few days he'd just leave. The random screams were starting to get annoying anyways, and he didn't like all the gross water. He could only imagine how terrible it would be for the horse-taur… Centaur… A few sparks came off his scales as a shiver ran down his spine, it felt like they were being watched all of the sudden, but he couldn't figure out what was doing so. Gently he nudged Paradox though, and nodded in the direction they had been walking. Maybe they should just try to get this over with.

Paradox walked next to the dragon, so close she could have been at risk of getting stepped on if she wasn't careful. She flicked her ears back and shook her mane uneasily. She placed a hand on the dragon's flank so she wouldn't lose him on accident. She listened to him speak and snorted loudly. "I don't think it can be a good thing," she replied back to him. "They just don't look right and I've never heard of a lot of people turning themselves at once. By the looks of the moss on them, they've been here a long time."

She looked up at him when he mentioned rope and other things. "Show me," she said quietly. They walked through the woods and soon she saw the ropes and other objects Thalron had talked about. She froze in shock. "Thalron, those are nooses,' she said, tightening her grip on the dragon's scales. "They are what people use to kill themselves." She thought about the human trees and the screams that they had heard non-stop since they had gotten in the forest. 

"Those people we saw, they didn't turn themselves into the trees. I know what was wrong with them now, why they looked different." She stared at the dragon, a shudder running down her body. "They were already dead when they became trees, that's why they haven't changed back. People came looking for them, and once they found them." She pointed to the ropes just above the dragon's head. "They killed themselves too. They are the screams we keep hearing. This forest is haunted." She jumped forward and started trotting, the water splashing up against her belly and legs. "We have to get out of here."

Thalron wasn't useed to people being so close to him, but at the same time he sort of liked the feeling. He spent a lot of time alone and probably just wasn't aware of his crave for attention most of the time, thankfully this also meant he was paying a bit more attention to how he was moving so she didn't get knocked around too much from his sometimes not so graceful walk in the swampy areas. When she said it couldn't be a good thing he rumbled thoughtfully and eyed the trees with a bit more suspicion. He didn't get a bad feeling from them inherently, but it was strange, and something else in this place was definitely not on the good side of things.

"Why would someone do that..?" He asked as he looked towards the ropes, perhaps he could understand seeing one or two from strange people, but there were so many. He didn't even want to tell Paradox how many more he could likely see or sense than her. He looked down as she continued to speak and looked a little surprise, he hadn't been terribly afraid during this trip but seeing the mixture of dread, fear, or disgust on her face was starting to send more shivers down his spine. Each one eliciting a few small sparks between his scales. When she took off he paused for a moment, but then sped up to keep up with her. 

"I still have to find that sword, if you stay with me I can fly you out once I find it!" No sooner than having finished speaking did he spot something which made him somewhat skid to a stop in the murky mud and water, his eyes focusing in on the thing that didn't fit in with the rest of the trees. He was expecting to find the sword lying beside a tree, or in the roots, or something like that but what he saw was a bit different. It was an exquisite looking two handed sword, plunged deep into the middle of the tree at about chest height for a human. The sword itself looked almost brand new, except where the blade entered the tree. At that point there was a trail of rust than ran down the front of the tree to the water.

all the small trees and shrubs around it seemed oddly twisted compared to the more upright growth of the others in the forest as well. It was saying something pretty serious when something looks off about a place, when surrounding it is a haunted forest inhabited by screaming ghosts, tree-entombed people, and the remnants of nooses'.