Author: Lou, Posted: Mon May 2, 2016 4:38 PM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

After a while, Paradox began to enjoy being high above the clouds and was able to relax her grip on the dragon's spines. She looked over his side and wasn't able to tell the foggy ground from the clouds. The forest stretched out as far as she could see below them. She hadn't realized it was so big when she had initially wandered into it. She was very glad to be out of it though. The death and toxic atmosphere around it felt like it was beginning to poison her. 

She closed her eyes and felt the wind ripple through her hair. It was nice in a way she had never experienced before. She felt Thalron shift as he glided through the air and was able to feel his muscles flex when he flapped his wings. She could feel the electricity underneath his hard scales and it lightly tickled her fingers. She smiled to herself and opened her eyes. She turned her ears towards him as she heard him begin to speak. He bent around to look at her, his eyes bright and playful.

"I'm alright Thalron," she said, looking at him. "You flew very well through the trees. I have nothing more than a few very minor scratches. At this pace we should be away from the forest in only a matter of hours." She was glad to be away from it. She was looking quite forward to returning to a place where she could see where she was going and wouldn't have to listen to anymore screams. She stretched out her limbs on the dragon and allowed herself to finally relax. 

Author: Thalron, Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 4:16 PM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

The air above that cursed placed seemed to be free of the malevolent attitudes that they had experienced below, though even with the beauty that the sea of white rolling fog gave it held a distant, and depressing vibe… It was just so much less so than where they just were that the dragon felt practically ecstatic! His wings soon began to pick up speed again as his flight swung out in a wide and relaxed turn, it seemed like he knew where he was going at least, instead of flying somewhere at random. He still had to get rid of the sword now, after all. It wasn't something he particularly wanted to hang onto, especially after all those… Ghost things….

"Maybe I'll come back some day when I'm even bigger… And burn the whole place down!" He growled playfully and spat out a mouthful of sparks, before twisting his neck about to try and peer at her. He was flexible enough to do so, but it was obviously not a very comfortable position, and he mostly saw her rear-half. "Are you okay? That wasn't the most uh…" He paused for a moment. "…It's hard to fly in the trees." He finally spat out, as he couldn't figure out how to say that it wasn't his best take off. It wasn't his worst, by far, but definitely not the best. The last really bad one he could remember he had ended up getting his horn stuck in the branch of a big tree and was nearly knocked silly, and after he fell down the branch had landed on top of him. He was just glad no one had been around to see him on that day.

His flight was fast, at least compared to travelling by ground, but there would still be a good while before he reached the edge of the forest. He wasn't going to stop before they were out though, there was no way he'd land in that forest again, not before he got rid of the sword… Even after that, it was unlikely he'd enter that cursed place unless he absolutely had to. It occurred to him that she might not have been going the same direction as he was now, but if that was the case he could probably fly her over the forest in the other direction.

Author: Lou, Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2016 12:33 PM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

Paradox flicked her ears back as the air screamed past them. Thalron was picking up speed as they tore through the trees. She held on frantically to his spines and wrapped her arms around them. If she fell now, she'd be a goner. She watched the dragon's bright blue wings unfurl at his sides. It reminded her vaguely of floating on a blue ocean, as his wings obscured the ground from her view. He beat them once, his muscles rippling under her body and she readjusted herself accordingly to stay on board. He flapped again and again, gaining altitude quickly with each downward motion. 

She watched the energy spark and flicker over her scales. The electricity did no harm to her, except make her fur stand on end in places it normally didn't. She stared at his head, where all the energy tendrils seemed to be going. His horn glowed brighter and brighter, until she was forced to look away from the intensity of it. There was a mighty crack as a streak of lightning shot up into the sky. She covered her head with her arms as smoking leaves and broken branches rained down on them. 

It took a while for the dragon to break out of the trees. Vines entangled themselves, branches blocked their way, and the never ending amount of leaves blinded their ability to see where they were going. At last they broke through and rose above the treetops. The sun was bright and the sky was clear. She looked down below them and saw only fog where the forest used to be. Up here, she couldn't hear the screams and wails of the souls lost down below.

The dragon leveled out far above the ghostly forest and glided calmly across the sky. She laid down on Thalron's neck and breathed a sigh of relief, letting her heartbeat slow to a more normal level. She glanced at him when he started talking to her. She nodded to him. "I wouldn't be against skipping it next time I travel back through here again," she replied. "Not my favorite place in the world, that's for sure."

Author: Thalron, Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2016 9:35 PM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

The dragons scales shifted and flattened a bit more tightly against his body as he prepared for flight, he was somewhat reassured when she said that she could hold on, but he knew many people said things that they ended up not being able to follow through on… His pause in the clearing was cut short when she when she yelled at him to fly, and his eyes caught the glinting of metal and shapes in the fog. It seemed like they'd be leaving now, or not at all.

If she fell he was ready to grasp her with his hind legs, but he hoped she could remain perched on his back. Grabbing something as large as her in mid flight like that would undoubtedly subject her to his claws, and significant pressure. It would not make the rest of this furious ordeal any easier for either of them.

His wings unfurled, spreading out to their full and impressive span, the first powerful beat seemed to launch him in the air, though in reality he leapt up at the same time. Energy crackled over his form as he planted his thick claws against the trunk of a tree and twisted with another heavy flap, forcing more momentum into the movement as he took off. The small sparks and flickers that had appeared when he was agitated were nothing compared to what came next though, energy danced across his scales and likely tickled her fur as they seemed to all sweep up towards his horn. It glowed as bright as the sun for a brief moment, and then all the energy was released at once in a great bolt of lightning that shot up into the sky. Branches exploded, ropes and vines were enveloped in flame and cascaded down upon them in a shower of ash and small splinters.

Even with the way partially cleared by the blast branches, vines and some ropes seemed intent on catching on his wings, hands, and whatever they could loop about. The sounds of them tightening, breaking, or pulling off branches grew louder as he fought through the canopy. It eventually broke though, after what seemed to be an eternity of struggle everything seemed to fall away in a sudden, climactic moment. The detritus and vines clinging limping and failing to drag him back down into the fog-laden forest, revealing only an endless sea of fog that unfurled below them in every direction. The sun shone down upon it, but little light seemed to return from the bleak expanse… The sounds from below were dull and muted by the tightly knit trees, and branches.

His heart was pounding both in his chest and his head as he caught his stride, wings settling down from their frantic beats, and the ride becoming incredibly more even as he leveled out over the featureless terrain. "…So umm, do you want to agree to never go back there?" came his somewhat cracking voice, followed by a clearing of his throat. 

Author: Lou, Posted: Fri Apr 8, 2016 5:27 PM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

Paradox gripped tightly to Thalron's scales and positioned herself into the most stable position possible. "I can hang on as tight as I need to," she called down to him. She tensed her limbs as he crouched down and waited for him to lift his wings for flight. Instead, he ducked his head and raced through the trees. She wrapped her arms around his dorsal spines and watched the shadow figures as the pair raced through them. They dissipated for a second but reappeared just as quickly. 

She looked back and could see them just behind the dragon's spiked tail. They appeared to be following them and she shuddered. She heard a scream nearby and was tempted to scream back. She refrained and swallowed the scream back down. "Faster Thalron!" she said loudly. "They're following us!" She ducked under a tree branch and looked ahead to where they were going. Thalron's long legs carried them swiftly through the woods, even at their high speed, the spectres were still able to keep pace. She struggled to constantly adjust her awkward mass on his back so that she wouldn't slip off his side with every other stride.

After a short while, he stopped running and they found themselves in a large clearing. The fog and mist surrounding them made it difficult to see where the clearing ended and the forest began. Thalron had to be careful to avoid clipping the edges of his wings on the unknown boundaries. "Watch yourself," she cautioned him. She looked back and saw the ghostly masses following them. They seemed to be getting faster, and a whole lot more menacing. 

She saw what appeared to be swords glisten unnaturally in the dim light. Her pulse quickened as she looked at the dragon, who appeared to be hesitating. "Fly Thalron!" She yelled. "Spread your wings and fly! They're coming! Quickly!" Then she heard the screams. They started quiet, but quickly grew into a deafening roar as the dead army came closer. She clapped her hands over her ears and howled. She couldn't pinpoint the sound. It seemed to be coming from everywhere. 

Author: Thalron, Posted: Wed Apr 6, 2016 2:26 PM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

Thalron wasn't really used to a lot of strange things, most problems he could avoid, or smash if he gave enough effort. Both of those options were severely tempting with the sword now that it was free, gleaming and glistening in the darkened swamp just as it might in full day. It was unnatural, but the feeling he got from it was getting steadily… Well, less bad. He took a few more steps away from the tree as it seemed to bleed out and wither right before. He hoped that this meant whatever person that used to be was just dead now and free, rather than stuck in torment. He wasn't too hopeful though.

His eyes looked across the encroaching figures and what was, for a moment, the feeling that things might be getting better went away. It might have just been his own mind, but they seemed angry, or envious, or a terrible mixture of the two. His body crouched down as Paradox began to climb up, making it much easier (and possible) for something of her stature. Her hooves didn't seem to bother the hard scales of his back, though the reverse might not be so true for the rest of her. He lacked a saddle, and the centerline of his back was somewhat angular, though if she grabbed his neck and was very careful it might not be too horrible.

"Umm… How hard can you hang on?" came his next question as he realized that he needed to take a nearly vertical lift off to get out of these trees. He wouldn't be jumping up right here though, and began to walk very briskly towards a somewhat more open section he had seen a few days ago. It wasn't far, since while it was days ago he had been searching in a somewhat grid like manner. As he passed through the ring of figures a chill ran down his spine but they didn't appear to harass him, after the fog was distorted they re-appeared still facing them. They seemed to follow the two through the forest, materializing here or there at the edges of their vision in seemingly random places. Sometimes very near to them, or far away, but there was definitely that feeling that they were getting closer each time.

"I don't think we were ever welcome here." His voice had actually gotten a little deeper, and eyes a little more fierce looking. Slowly it seemed his nervousness was transforming him into the somewhat scary creature that he looked like he was supposed to be, which generally happened whenever his more base instincts of fight or flight began to kick in. He seemed to be a little less awkward as well, though in truth this was all simply because his focus had turned entirely to his environment rather than randomly migrating between external and internal thoughts.

When they reached the clearing he stopped and looked back at her, before looking up at the 'sky' which was just a dark haze with slightly less branches between them and it. If she doubted her ability to stay on he could try carrying her in his arms, but that would make takeoff somewhat more interesting… And potentially crash-y.

Author: Lou, Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 8:21 PM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

Paradox stood still, only her eyes were moving as she stared at the people in the mist. The brave dragon beside her flapped his wings and the people disappeared momentarily from view, before reappearing in the same location a moment later. Up close she could start to see the resemblance of a face instead of a blank blur. The fine line of their mouths and the dark holes where their eyes should have been. She shuddered and inched closer to Thalron.

She watched him silently as he reached forward with a claw and pulled out the sword. There was a slight creak as the steel slid out from its wooden trap. It was calm for a second, reminding her vaguely of the calm before the strong summer storms. Then dark red sap or blood spurted out of the tree and she jumped backwards, colliding into the dragon's side. Once the blood touched the water it dissipated with a hiss into a cloud of smoke. Following the blood came several sparks, the first bits of fire she had seen in days, their light was almost blinding in the murky swamp.

As swiftly as it came, the blood stopped spurting and the fires died down. The tree appeared to arch back before folding over. Its trunk was now bleached and pale, like bones. It was dry now, and chipping, aging a hundred years in the span of a second. The blood dripped slowly down the tree's side before disappearing in the water, a red ring started to circle the base of the trunk. She waited several seconds before turning to look at the sword in Thalron's claw. 

The sword was clean and looked fresh out of the smithy. She reached forward, but hesitated before touching the sword. She didn't want to touch this cursed weapon, nor be near it longer than she had to be. She glanced around them, the trees shaking in the wind and the ghosts appearing to draw nearer. She nodded briskly at Thalron's suggestion and clambered as quickly as she could up his side to his back. "Yes, let's get out of here." She spoke rapidly in a higher pitched voice than normal. "I have a feeling that we aren't welcome here."

Author: Thalron, Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2016 11:13 PM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

There was a growing nervousness, and dread filling the dragon as time went on. Whatever oblivious, or brave protections had surrounded psyche had obviously been penetrated by recent events. He really wanted to leave now, and to not come back. His scales rattled slightly as another shiver ran down his spine, the touch of Paradox's hand to his neck seeming to help them settle fully once more. The ghostly audience didn't help his feelings of not wanting to be here, they reminded him of something else but he couldn't remember what.

He took a deep breath, then flapped his wings and dispersed the figures… For a moment at least, the fog swirled outwards in every direction then rolled back in just as they had been before. The figures had moved and seemed to have been shuffled by the disturbance but there were no few than before, if anything there seemed to be more. He almost wished they were completely faceless, instead of being some sort of half-people. They were like faded memories of people… Perhaps that's what they really were.

Neither of them knew what would happen if the sword was removed, but there didn't appear to be any way to find out other than doing it. He didn't want to be trapped in this forest, or in pain, but he also didn't want to leave this… Thing the way it was, he was known for being somewhat selfish, but at the core of it he did have a good heart. His instincts just often got in the way of that. There was a very unfortunate, or perhaps fortunate mix of them going on right now though. The feeling of wanting to flee, wanting to help, and some others he didn't really understand that well.

The result of these thoughts and emotions was, a few moments after paradox stepped away he reached out and pulled the sword out. There was a moment of eerie silence, as the wind even seemed to cease. The only sound the slick sound of metal running along dampened wood, and a slight creaking from the tree infront of the dragon. It seemed… Well, pretty easy. He looked over to Paradox. "That wasn't so…" Before he could say 'bad' blood suddenly spurted from the wound in the tree, where it touched the water smoke seemed to rise up. Wherever it touched something solid flames appeared, a few bits of fire appearing on Thalron's hand before he jumped away. Before their eyes the tree began to wither and decay, the bark and flesh of the tree darkening and draining of color as more of the ichorous fluid escaped.

"…Bad." the words finally escaped from his jaws. He glanced down towards the sword which gleamed in his claws, shining in the dim and gloomy light. It looked pristine and untouched by the place, but gave off an aura of menace and pain that was almost worse than the gloom of the swamp. Around them the trees began to sway in the growing breeze, the sounds were picking up again, and as if to kick things off, a horrendous scream erupted from the woods right beside them. "Maybe we should go..?" He said in a slightly shaky voice.

Author: Lou, Posted: Wed Mar 9, 2016 5:57 PM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

Paradox turned back an ear as the dragon spoke, his voice tight, almost anxious. She shifted on her feet and flicked her tail across her hocks. A shiver went down her spine and suddenly she felt very cold. She also had the sensation that something was touching her, but when she looked around she saw that nobody was nearby, except for the dragon, and he was still several feet from her. She nodded with him and she reached out to pet his neck, the cool scales felt nice on her fingers. 

She lifted up her head and smelled something odd. The winds appeared to have changed and she saw the fog take form. A line of people like shapes appeared out of the fog and seemed to surround them. Some were tall, others short, a few stocky, whereas a few more were thin. They looked very much like people and she could make out what looked like noses or cheekbones on some of them. What unnerved her the most were their eyes, she couldn't seem them, not even the remnants of sockets or other such cavity.

They stood still and silent, staring at them. She felt almost afraid to move. "I don't know Thalron," she spoke softly. "I don't know if removing the sword would be a good idea or not. But the tree does look like it is in pain of some sort, I just don't want to find out if that sword would inflict the same pain on us if we removed it. I don't really want to be a tree in this cursed forest." She stared at the spectre people, unmoving and unresponsive. 

She couldn't tell if they were good or bad, she got a feeling of neither. Just a blankness, the same with their scents, which to her were completely absent. They were either Gods or Spirits, neither of which had a smell, or an aura for that matter. In that way, they scared her, because she couldn't pick up on pheromone cues, scents, or any other hormones she often used to understand a person. The ghosts were blank slates that she couldn't learn anything about, at least by smell. Hesitantly, she took a step toward them, after casting a glance to Thalron. She looked at the figures and spoke one word, so quietly she questioned whether she said anything at all. "Hello?"

Author: Thalron, Posted: Mon Mar 7, 2016 10:43 PM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

Thalron wasn't too used to some of, or most of the intricacies of the human mind. The fact that they'd kill themselves for no good reason seemed so alien and a little chilling to him, the only reason he could see potentially killing oneself was if it was completely unavoidable, or if he was too maimed to function. It didn't seem like that would be the case for so many though. He kind of hoped he'd never find out what'd drive people to do that. Idly he leaned down and nosed at her very gently, partially to reassure her that things weren't so bad as she clutched to his leg, and also to reassure himself a little bit.

…Feelings were contagious weren't they?

"He looks like he's in pain…" he said quietly as Paradox walked over towards the tree, he followed as well but his pace was much more subdued than before. He partially reached out to pull her back when she reached for it, but stopped himself and instead just watched. He could smell blood, fear, and felt intense anger. This whole place was getting more sickening by the moment. He wasn't sure he wanted to get the sword back for the person anymore, though part of him wanted to take it just to remove it from the tree… A part of him also wanted to burn down the forest, but he doubted he could do that.

He head leaned in closer to sniff at the blood like substance, it definitely smelled like human blood. He almost tasted it but stopped and looked back up towards the sword, then the tree. "I don't like it." He stated somewhat quietly, his eyes drifting from the horrific sight down to his companion, before back up again. What were they supposed to do now? This wasn't just a random sword lost in a swamp, it was… Bad… Or at least, in a bad place. "Should we pull it out? I don't think it belongs here." As he said that the wind seemed to blow through the trees, a low howl echoing through the brush, swirling the fog into ghastly shapes and figures around them. Strange distorted faces and contorted bodies seemed to fade in and out of the flowing fog, the screams seemed to have quieted down as well. It all felt like the gathering of clouds before the storm though, and the spectral audience seemed to be gathering to judge them.

Author: Lou, Posted: Sat Mar 5, 2016 2:43 PM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

Paradox was more than eager to get out of this forest and never return to it. The smell of death was rank and made the air almost suffocating to breath. It was overpowering, she'd have rather smelled the stagnant swamp water. She heard the splashing of water from the dragon that trailed behind her. She slowed before stopping and looking back at him. She saw the sparks flick out from under a few scales of his neck. He smelled faintly of charred meat and she couldn't get enough of it. She tried desperately to block out the death smell.

"People can go mad," she said, a shudder going down her back. "Madness can be contagious. Like Mad Cow Disease, once one cow gets sick, the whole herd can go. People are herd animals and the same thing could happen to them." She grabbed on to his foreleg. "They're all mad here," she said quietly. She stared up at him as he spoke. She nodded in agreement and tried to calm herself. "Yes, Thalron. You made a promise to find that sword, and I will not abandon you in this horrible place."

They walked along when he caught sight of the sword and she followed him. The sword was almost up to the hilt in one of the tree people. The tree was contorted in an unnatural way and a feeling of dread sank in her stomach. The sword was clean and almost free of rust and corrosion. What little bit of the blade she could see appeared to shine from an unnatural light within. It looked terribly wrong, like a violation of nature. She stared at what appeared to rust that ran down the front of the tree. 

She touched it gently with her finger and pulled back like she had gotten burned. She showed her hand to the large dragon. A red sap was on her shaking fingertips. Her eyes widened as she stared at the tree, the twisted face, the abnormal position. "This man was killed." She stated flatly. She turned her eyes back to the liquid on her hand and smeared it between her thumb and fore finger. It was too thin, too light, it wasn't sticky. The tang of copper entered her nostrils when she smelled it. This was blood. And it was still warm.

Author: Thalron, Posted: Thu Mar 3, 2016 12:47 PM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

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'.

Author: Lou, Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2016 5:53 PM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

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."

Author: Thalron, Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2016 11:20 PM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

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.

Author: Lou, Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2016 12:19 PM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

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."

Author: Thalron, Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2016 1:37 AM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

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.

Author: Lou, Posted: Tue Feb 9, 2016 9:24 AM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

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. 

Author: Thalron, Posted: Mon Feb 8, 2016 9:42 PM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

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.

Author: Lou, Posted: Sun Feb 7, 2016 7:18 PM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

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.

Author: Thalron, Posted: Sun Feb 7, 2016 6:33 PM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

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.

Author: Lou, Posted: Fri Feb 5, 2016 6:20 AM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

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. 

Author: Thalron, Posted: Thu Feb 4, 2016 9:07 PM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

Thalron would have been easy to follow in this swamp even without being seen, as when he was moving with any decent amount of speed the noises of disturbed branches, and splashing of water was easy to pick up even from a distance. Thankfully they didn't get seperated anyways. "What legends?" He hadn't heard of any about this place before. "I'm looking for a sword! Someone's old… uh… Grandpa or something? They died here, and they want it back, and they're going to give me stuff if I can get it for them!" He seemed excited about the possibility of getting something, which made sense if any of the legends about dragon hoards were true. He did have several places where many things were stashed, he knew where they were but the chances of anyone else finding them were low. Unlike most dragons, he seemed unable to pick out a permanent territory for some reason.

He looked down at her for a few moments, trying to decide the best way to get her up there without hurting her. He rumbled in thought a little bit, but then got up and braced his hind legs against the larger portion of the trees, leaning forward and grabbing her with his hands. His chest rest against some branches which creaked a little bit as he hefted her up, somewhat slipping backwards into a sitting position after he got her up to chest level. For a moment it looked like he was going to set her down on the branches, but rather abruptly he rolled over instead. Sprawling across the branches, and then setting her down on the hardened scales of his chest. They were damp from the swamp, but slightly warm, and thankfully smooth enough that water and whatnot didn't cling to them unlike her fur.

"There! Is that good?" He rumbled happily, it was almost like a purr but much deeper and more gravel-y. He would have set her on the tree, but there were lots of small gaps and things in the branches. If she slipped it probably wouldn't be good, but at least his underbelly wasn't covered in spikes or such. It was hard to tell, but it was a little evident he had been more puffed up after she called him handsome. Another trait he had from the draconic line was a good deal of vanity, or pride. It wasn't as developed as many, but he was very fond of compliments. He was currently thinking about attempting to use a small trick he had learned to help dry her off. Unfortunately, it also had a tendency to occasionally electrocute them.

…He'd try it later if she didn't manage to get dry in a reasonable amount of time.

Author: Lou, Posted: Thu Feb 4, 2016 8:43 PM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

Paradox listened to Thalron as they went towards his nest. He made a joke and she chuckled at it. "That's one way you could think about it," she said, becoming quite happy to have some company in this dreary swamp, even if it was a dragon. She trotted after him as he picked up the pace, water splashing everywhere from both of them. He told her they were close and took off through the swamp. She ducked as his massive tail swung over her head. She liked her ears, and her head, and the majority of her upper half for the most part and watched the bladed tail just miss her. 

She watched him fading into the fog and took off after him. She was careful to keep some space between them, she didn't want to be taken out by a tail or a wing. On normal circumstances, she would like be able to easily outrun him, but here, she wasn't able to go as quickly as she liked, not being able to see what was under the water. The two of the ran through the water, splashing it up there sides. She watched him run, cutting between the trees, like a giant winged serpent.

He started talking to her again and she slipped up to his side so he could hear her answer. "I was curious about the forest," she huffed, her large lungs working hard to power her muscular body. "I wanted to see if the legends about it were true. I'm pleased with my answer." A scream from somewhere pierced the air, and she took off just a little faster. "What is a handsome dragon like yourself doing alone in these parts? I haven't seen any of your kind before, here or anywhere."

Thalron stopped and the fog cleared enough that she could make out the outline of four massive trees that were bent in towards each other, several yards above the ground. She looked up at it from the ground. A horse in a tree, never heard that one before. She walked up to the base of it, careful of the mighty dragons tail as he climbed into the nest. He curled up and looked down at her. She looked at the slimy tree trunks. There were no branches close enough to the ground and she doubted that she could get a good grip on them with her hooves. She looked back up at the dragon. There seemed to be no alternative. "Yes, please," she called up to him. "A little assistance would be greatly appreciated."

Author: Thalron, Posted: Thu Feb 4, 2016 8:18 PM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

The story he was told of her races beginnings, despite her intent, was just as if not more confusing than him believing they were the random offspring of some human and a horse. Oh well, whenever people started talking about history he was pretty lost. He never knew who or what they were talking about, half the time he didn't even know the name of the region he was in! It was a very interesting story though, and he seemed to pay attention throughout it, which was a rarity. Usually he'd get lost in his own random thoughts half way through, then have to re-remember what was told. "Hmm…. So that makes you half horse, quarter man, and quarter cloud?" This time it was obvious he was joking, as a wide grin appeared and he had puffed up a little bit after saying so. He obviously thought he was being clever, whether or not that was the case. He was slowly… SLOOooowly getting better at it though.

"It's not too far from here, I was sort of on the way back already." He stepped over her more or less, then hopped up ahead, his somewhat blade like tail swinging dangerously close to her face for a moment, and accidentally cutting down a couple vines as he went ahead. He went pretty quickly for the most part, weaving between the trees and only occasionally tripping or sinking into the muck. "What are you doing here anyways? I don't think I've seen any other Centaurs… Unless that partial horse skeleton was one…" He slowed as he spoke, though just about as he finished talking they came upon what appeared to be four large trees that had partially fallen and grown together. It created a natural hollow at the bottom that was full of plants and muck hanging down, but in the middle above that section there was a large knotting of the trunks that made a comparatively nice nest shaped area. It was just bare logs and branches though, no padding of any sort to be found.

Thalron didn't wait for her to find a way up before he just climbed right up into it, all he had to do really was stand on his hind legs to reach it. It would be substantially more difficult for someone who couldn't climb. Once up there though, there were some shuffling noises, followed by a deep, rumbling growl. It echoed through the bones, sounding, and feeling like a combination of a great earthquake and the rumbling of not so distant thunder. Numerous small creatures immediately fled from the tree in all directions, some squawking, hissing or such. Once that was done he turned around and lay down with his fore-half facing her.

"…Do you need a hand up?"

Author: Lou, Posted: Thu Feb 4, 2016 4:44 PM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

The young dragon asked her several more questions, evidently intrigued by her race. His brows creased and his look of confusion intensified. She smiled at him. "There are female and male centaurs, like all creatures. I just say man, as in the group of creatures. Or Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve." She didn't want to confuse him more so, especially with her top half looking like a woman. "Centaurus had a father named Ixion, a mortal man. Ixion, as he got older, soon started losing his mind. There was a mighty god that took pity on him and brought him up to the clouds to eat with the gods. When Ixion saw saw the mother goddess, wife of the father god, he fell in love with her."

"The father god made a cloud in the shape of the mother goddess and placed her next to Ixion while he was sleeping. He confirmed his suspicions of him, when upon waking wanted to bed with the cloud that looked like the mother goddess. As a result, Ixion was banished from the earth and was tied to a flaming wheel that would spin for all eternity. The cloud figure was later named Nephele and became pregnant with Ixion's child. This was how Centaurus was created. So in a sense, he wasn't actually a complete man, only half. That's why I do not refer to myself or the rest of my kind as Sons of Adam or Daughters of Eve. Only through a spark of magic and the touch of the gods did my kind ever come into existence, purely on accident at that. But that was a long time ago, and it's just a legend anyway."

He spoke his name, quite enthusiastically. "It's very nice to meet you Thalron." He spoke of a nest high in a tree where he had been roosting for the night. Though horses were not a fan of trees, she was willing to go if it meant a dry place to sleep. "Alright," she said, she still didn't know if she trusted this dragon. But he seemed alright so far, just curious. She would have prefered to stay on the ground, but so far, she had not seen anywhere dry enough to camp in this swamp. She looked up at him, "Where is this nest?"

Author: Thalron, Posted: Thu Feb 4, 2016 3:26 PM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

It was true that Thalron had a sense of humor, however most often he was just being blatantly truthful and oblivious to whether his comments were funny or not. Whenever he actually made a joke, it was generally very obvious and not necessarily that clever. Something about his companion was strange to him though, the way she was speaking especially. It had become slow and… empathetic? He wasn't really sure what the word was, it was a mixture of calm and thoughtful. That manner of speech was somewhat foreign to him, it happened from time to time, but generally only from creatures or things that didn't find him to be a threat. He wondered why they used that sort of speech, but at least it was easier to understand.

When she described how her kind were made, his eyes widened a little bit. It was obviously not what he was expecting to hear, wasn't that sort of thing frowned upon..? "You're half woman though, not half man." he said with slightly furrowed brows. "Why aren't there more half-animal things around if that's all it takes?" His voice wasn't as… Threatening as one might expect once he got into asking questions, it was indeed somewhat childish as she had guessed. If she kept answering questions as she was though, this would probably end up being a very long and possibly silly conversation. The words often left his mouth before he had fully formulated the thoughts behind them.

He stepped aside as she moved up, the water was not nearly so deep for him. Her name had confused him for a moment, but then he realized that her name was 'Paradox' not that it was a paradox. "Oh, I'm Thalron!" As he followed her, he seemed to be very careful about some of the trees, but much less so with others. His armored shoulders or sides occasionally scraping off bits of bark or breaking branches. "I've been sleeping in a big tree-bundle-thing. I could take you there? It's dry, and there are lots of snakes to eat." He seemed to think the abundance of snakes was a good thing rather than a bad thing.

Author: Lou, Posted: Thu Feb 4, 2016 6:57 AM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

Paradox stood still while the dragon sniffed her, her head held high. She felt confident by his previous statement that he wouldn’t eat her yet, so she allowed him to investigate her with his nose. His breath was hot against her, making her skin ripple under her fur. He didn’t looked pleased when he pulled his head away, a rather confused look on his face. She realized he probably had never seen one of her kind before, similar to how she had never seen or heard of another dragon outside of legends and myths. He replied to her comment about the weather. At least he has a sense of humor. She thought to herself. That’s more than can be said to several of the creatures she had met before.

He asked her why she was part horse and human. She smiled. He reminded her vaguely of the foals in her old herd. Asking questions, eager for knowledge, and always curious about the new things around her. He must be quite young, he’s not even his adult size. She answered his question, her words slow and steady. She would have patience with him. “I am a Centaur, dear Dragon,” she said, looking up at him. “We are the descendants of Centaurus, a man who mated with female horses. He was deformed and shunned by his own kind, the mares were the only creatures that kept him company. We are half horse and half man, equally.”

The dragon rose upright, his head several feet above her her own now. As he flapped his wings to clear away the fog, she caught his scent. Almost sickeningly sweet, and yet quite mild. It was a nice smell after being surrounded by the stench of decay for several days. They didn’t speak for several seconds, the sounds of the forest filling the gap. At last, she broke the silence. “My name is Paradox,” she said quietly. “What is your name, Dragon?” She broke off the last word as she felt something touch one of her forelegs. She shuddered and stepped forward, water splashing lightly against her sides. “Come with me,” she said, walking past him. “I want to get out of this nasty water before nightfall and find a dry place to camp.”

Author: Thalron, Posted: Wed Feb 3, 2016 8:08 PM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

After his rather ungraceful landing, murky water splashed about them as his chest dug a small trench in the ground there, he hardly even noticed when she ran into his horn. His scales, while less lustrous, were no less hard than most of the dragons of legend. He was also  rather renowned for being thick skulled, in many meanings of the word. With a great snort he expelled a cloud of the rank water, then stared down at her… Half horse, half person? Would that be a… Horson? Perse? Or was it some unfortunate accident that had ended up with them being sewn together? His mind was racing with many improbable possibilities. He almost didn't even hear her speak.

"Oh… Umm, well sorry for almost trying to eat you." he said with a rather… Toothy grin. It was an attempted smile, but he was never terribly good at forcing those. Leaning in a bit closer he sniffed at her a few times, trying to figure out whether she was actually two things fused together or something that was meant to be that way. The result wasn't too helpful, but he was pretty sure she was meant to be a horse person of some sort. "It's more wet than I like…" he commented about the weather, but then seemed to focus a bit more intently on her. "Why are you half horse, or uh… Half human?" he asked in a curious, and also somewhat oblivious sounding tone. Unaware that asking why someone was something was often seen in bad taste.

His wings shuffled a bit and resettled as he got up as well, towering over her as he stretched out. His scales dripping murky water and bits of mud, if she could actually detect his scent through the swamp-y smells she might be able to tell it was more like the sweet scent after rain, almost sickeningly so, with a sharp chemical edge to it. It was however, faint due to all the water and muck he had been through recently. He was also pretty sure her colors were different than they were at the moment, right now she looked a sort of muddy brown and green in most places… Though he could see some of the natural grey-ish colors in some places.

Around them now that the moment of excitement had temporarily passed, other than their own speech it seemed eerily silent around. A brief half-flap of his wings sent the fog about them retreating for a few moments, it was short lasting though. The darkness and depression of the forest seemed intent on getting close to them, though thankfully in Thalron's case he was easily distracted enough that the fear was often forgotten before it could build up too greatly… And he was somewhat used to screaming, usually it was because of him though.

Author: Lou, Posted: Wed Feb 3, 2016 5:43 PM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

Paradox ran blind, galloping as fast as she could. She didn't want whatever that thing was on her again. She went so fast she didn't catch the scent of smoke and scales. It was only too late when she saw the glowing yellow eyes staring back at her through the fog. She sat down on her hocks and felt herself slide through the water on her hindlegs, momentum carrying her forward. She smacked heavily into the large yellow horn on the dragon's head before flopping heavily to the side. 

She stood staring at the dragon, legs shaking as she breathed heavily. Normally she would have been frightened of such a large creature, but she was winded and tired. She was almost grateful to see another living creature in this wretched place, even if it was a creature who could potentially eat her and think nothing of it. Once she regained her breath and the shock wore off, she stepped back and looked at the dragon as an entirety, well at least the front half, the rest of him was hidden in the fog. 

"Hello Dragon," She said, respectfully. "I apologize for running into you, that was rather rude of me. I hope I didn't harm you in anyway, my hooves are sharper than they look and a cut on the face isn't enjoyable." She looked at him, his straw colored eyes glowing like flecks of gold. His scales were dull, unlike the legends in which she heard dragons being made of scales that could rival steel in luster. She never actually considered it, but to get the scales to shine like that, the dragon would have to put in considerable time grooming themselves, that realistically wouldn't be practical. His belly was bright yellow as were his horns and facial spikes that ran down his neck. The stark contrast was quite flattering on him, making it rather appealing to the eye.

She saw a pair of wings folded neatly on his back, hooked claws bent backwards under the membrane. Like her, he was standing up to his hocks in the murky water, grey mud on the lower parts of his belly. She flicked her ears back hesitantly, and then spoke again. "It is quite fine weather we are having isn't it?"

Author: Thalron, Posted: Wed Feb 3, 2016 5:14 PM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

Thalron had never been terribly fond of swampy places, it was difficult to fly, it was difficult to run, and everything ended up tasting like swamp water. This one in particular seemed to be especially terrible, so one might ask why he ever entered it. The answer was… He was bribed to, more or less, in this case it could actually be considered payment rather than bribery though. Someone wanted an item from the forest, an heirloom or something. No one else had managed to find it thus far, but they hadn't had the same abilities as the dragon, who was attempting to find it via scent for the most part. The range of his scent was diminished here, but he thought he was getting close to the right area, at least from the description of the person that told him… And he was promised a lot of food, and shiny, shiny things if he succeeded in bringing it back!

It had been a few days since when he started, and he had heard screams and other noises from the forest around him. None seemed particularly close, but they were disturbing more than normal screams. He could smell the death, and he swore at night it seemed to be moving around. No one had told him this place would be full of moving dead things! So long as they didn't bother him he didn't care though, it was still creepy to think about. How did dead things move around? Did they just suddenly decide to not be all the way dead anymore? He wondered if that could happen to him or not, he had never heard of an undead dragon before. He was contemplating what that would be like, he wasn't sure it would be much different, he already liked eating brains and stuff.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the sounds of something running in terror, a horse to be specific, but it sounded a bit different than a regular one. He wasn't sure why though, but one thing he did know- horses tasted good. Also, if it had a rider they sounded like they might need help, and if there was no rider no one would miss a horse out in this forest! It was a win in either situation. Hmm… The only confusing bit was whether he should keep referring to this place as a forest or a swamp, it was called a forest, but was definitely a bit swamp-y…

Those thoughts didn't stop him from moving ahead of the creatures path, crouching low to try and catch it when it arrived. It was dark here, and the many trees and such blocked much of his body from view, but the large, very slightly glowing yellow eyes were noticeable. Unfortunately, they'd probably only be noticeable once one was within reach. As soon as she got close enough he leapt forward, though as he saw that she was not in fact, a horse, his brakes partially kicked in and it turned into a half pounce, half avoiding crushing her. It wasn't the most graceful act either way, but likely terrifying.

Author: Lou, Posted: Tue Feb 2, 2016 6:22 PM, Post Subject: Inside the Trees (Open)

Paradox walked through the Koshei Forest, thick swamp water sticking to her hooves and creating a sickening sucking noise with every step she took. The water wasn't cold or hot, even though she felt a slight chill on her skin. She felt her hair prickle on her body and she flicked her ears nervously.  Something's wrong with this place. She thought. It doesn't feel right. Her wet tail slapped the back of her hocks when she moved it.

Light grey mud was splattered up to her heels and knees, and was caked in the end of her tail. She ducked under a low hanging branch, her eyes were playing tricks on her, making it difficult for her to see clearly. Fog from the water drifted in and out of view, creating the impression that logs and trees appeared out of thin air. She heard a scream from somewhere far away and bolted to the side. She scanned the swamp around her, but nothing was there. Probably just a bird or something. Now that she thought about it though, she hadn't seen anything alive all day.

She shook her mane and huffed, eyes wandering. Cautiously, she continued forward through the swamp, adjusting the bag at her side. She slipped a hand to her hip, the feel of the dagger sheath making her feel a little safer. She ducked under a low branch and looked up at the sky. How she missed the sun. She hadn't seen it since she entered this forest, the sky was always grey only darkening when night fell. She sniffed the air, hoping she was close to the forest borders. Decay, rot, and death filled her nose and she snorted it back out as if the very smell could start to kill her insides. 

Suddenly she felt something cold and wet start sliding up her hindlegs. She stopped breathing and froze, eyes wide in shock. The slithering continued up her leg and onto her rump. She couldn't see what it was, and she really didn't want to. A piercing shriek came from the thing on her back. She jumped with all four feet and started bucking, water splashing everywhere as she tried to get the screaming creature off of her. She pitched to the side and flopped on her side into the murky water. She withered around in the water and scrambled to her feet. The thing was gone now, but she didn't want it to come back. An equine scream escaped her lips and the whites of her eyes flashed as she tore through the swamp as fast as she could.