[SpringsSong]

Charis ux Versvesharytiss stalked around the forest, her eyes peeled for any signs of even the slightest thing off.  She had come out here of her own free will, but now, she was starting to doubt that had been the best idea.

Hofibavi... she thought to herself.  Coi jahus hofibavi di ve ekess confn ekik tenpiswo.

Normally, the white dragon with purple and blue markings was a little more docile, and not as quick to anger, but the swirling mists around the area were quickly changing her entire demeanor towards the region.  However, she was lost, and she had no way of getting out of here--at least, not on her own.

Si jalla tepoha listened trelkilt ekess wer biwheg majaktor ve ghoros si yoscama... she thought to herself, kicking a stone out of the way as she let out an angered roar.

[Azura Rayume]

The mist of Whisper didn't usually roar. Not unless he did anyway.

The great white beast had actually been sleeping, He rarely managed to get a sound sleep, but he had managed this time. Phrixus was not one to like a bed of stone beneath his scales, but that watchdog of his wouldn't allow him but the patch of moss that had taken to growing on the inside of his cell by way of greenery. If he had a bit more magic at his disposal, he would have made the stuff grow up every wall and thicker, too, enough for a cavern-sized mattress.

When a roar rang out over the trees, he had jerked awake, which had not helped his current mood. Three days of constant heckling from the hound had done little to soothe his savage nerves, and now someone was causing a ruckus in his home. His lip twitched in a snarl for a moment before he loosed a bellowing roar of his own.

[SpringsSong]

"Zyak - mobi ui creolnali else irsa nomenoi caesinic," Charis said to herself, sighing as she let out a low growl.  Mobi ui thric idol ekess visp sjek coi ui vi thurirl usv ti - sva gekip, ti ios ehtahir coi. Nomagqe coi ui safer ekess zexenuma mojka... she thought silently to herself, but at the same time, she was now undeniably curious.  The roar had been distinctly draconic in nature, that much was plain.

Ahio wer diieson... coi ornla qe worthwhile ekess venture forth vur ocuir sjek jaci ui hefoc si mi. Coi ornla qe zi petranasir ekess ehtah voga svaust renthisja wer zezhuanth ooble, she thought to herself.  So, carefully, Charis began to navigate in the direction of the roar, although her guard was decidedly raised, in case the being that the roar belonged to was hostile towards outsiders.

[Azura Rayume]

He was, in truth, almost reconsidering the roar. Sure, it was a bit late, but now the dog knew he was awake. There was no way the beast hadn't heard the first one, and his reply was nothing short of earthshaking to anyone nearby. He rested his chin on his mossy patch and waited for the reprimand to begin.

Five minutes later, the shifting of the trees caught his attention. Batobot ui ti wer jolek, he thought, turning his head slightly to stare in the direction of the noise. Kiri turalisj ekess qe jacion. Svabol tiliw coi qe..? Hm...

[SpringsSong]

The dragon moved a little closer to the edge of the trees, as far as she could tell.  The mist was a little thicker for her tastes, but she merely pressed forward, cursing the mist as she walked along.

Pothoc bakmadai, she thought to herself.  Astahii jalla ti persist hefoc nomeno. Astahii jalla dolruth mrith wer tiecelle... she thought again, sighing as she made her way through the trees.  They were starting to thin out a little bit, but they were still rather thick.

Itheik... ui mobi creolnali else ekik mobi? she asked herself before she dared to speak.

"Ui mobi tikilvi ekik mobi?" she asked.

[Azura Rayume]

The creature in the forest moved closer, and the dragon could sense a sort of uneasiness in the footsteps. It was probably the mist that disturbed it, and it walked with a careful gait that led him to believe it was an outsider. Not that the forest got very many of those, mind you. Most creatures knew to stay away from Whisper and its enchanted mists by nature, and those that ventured in rarely dared to come this close to him without reason.

Then it spoke, a voice drifting from the shadows in the ancient tongue spoken by so few. The fae of the forest had picked it up, but this voice was a new one, someone he had yet to encounter. And a female, too, possibly of a draconic nature.

"Axun, mobi ui creolna," he replied, a smile tugging at his lip. "Visp ve, kii re wux tenpiswo, loaw persvek wer bivnix?"

[SpringsSong]

"Wux jatil batobot mobi ui voga persvek nomeno treskri batobot renthisjic wer zezhuanth ooble?" Charis asked in shock, breaking free from the trees so that she was able to see the cave that was there.  She could now fully sense the other being there, and her surprise in hearing him speak in the ancient tongue was evident.

"Kii mi si loaw persvek wer bakmadai? Coi ui tagoa si mi xoalir ekess zhaan de harroci - nomenes batobot ornla levnim ve." she said, looking around warily.  She was not sure if anyone had followed her out here, and she did not really care to find out the hard way if someone was following her that meant to take her captive.

"Jaka, visp ve - kii re wux tenpiswo?" she asked.

[Azura Rayume]

Phrixus gave a low chuckle. "Axun, voga. si nomag qe wer ergriff ir, shar vucoti wer xanalre algbo." She certainly was full of suspicions, wasn't she? He could hear the surprise in her voice, though he could understand. It wasn't everyday that you found someone who knew the dragons' language, much less someone as fluent as either of them.

The mention of hunters was interesting. The rest, though, came as no surprise. "Wux re ti loaw, gewjtokvi," he explained. "Wer rekisixi di nomeno caesin re lae ssej lae wer bakmadai throdenilti di wer tairais. Wux geou ti ocuir astahi sjek astahii tir ti tuor wux ekess. Coi tepohaic ehis ekess tir mrith dout harroci."

"Si mi tenpiswo tagoa si tepoha ekess qe. Vur wux? Lyrik loupon dout togik, di ekmiv. Creolnali zklaen tepoha dronilnra wux tenpiswo, thric?"

[SpringsSong]

"Algbo, ir lyrik ui throdenilt loupon si jahus charisir ekess ehtah persvek nomeno goawy," Charis said, chuckling slightly as she stepped a little closer.  "Petranas yugon ve. Si mi ti klae ekess tikilvi drekim... aldoerir di ve. Tagoa si mi Vs'shtak persvek bloodline, astahii l'gra ve," she said, laughing slightly.

"Lyrik rekisixi di wer caesin, wux yenta? Si tiliw kiwieg wer adul di creol di astahi, shar astahii ornla qe gethrisja irsa vi klewar," she added, tapping her claws against the ground.  As he spoke, she tilted her head slightly.

"Tenpiswo tagoa wux tepoha ekess qe? batobot ui vi moxt stoda. Lae ihk sio... si mi tenpiswo tagoa coi ui ir goawy batobot nomenes svaust re maulkir ve geou ti confn. Ti ios vi sumf kepla'nasle," she said, flicking her tail slightly.  "Janik si lekar wer waere? sjek wux tir ti ricin, batobot ui," she said.

[Azura Rayume]

Phrixus stretched for a second, elbows creaking and one wing popping, then shifted over. His cavern was big enough for two, and the company could do him some good. "Confn persvek, sia usjalil," he said, smiling. "Sjek wux rigluin ekess houpe, mobi ui thric desta goawy loupon nomeno caesin, vur thric goawy persvek wer caesin desta loupon tenpiswo mrith ve. Sthyri l'gra svabol astahii shilta ti rihlilg, mishun lae toladaf nomeno caesin usv sio." It was almost a brag, but it was true.

He looked her over. She had a kind face, and was elegant in both wing and body. He claim of being hunted baffled him. She certainly didn't fit the bill for the violent, bloodthirsty drake that usually accompanied such a sentence. "Tikilvi svaust ornla l'gra wux aurthon ekess maulk wux ornla tepoha ekess tepoha vi bensvelk dril. Banprivi drekim di Vs'shtak iejir ui ti aurthon ekess nixeu l'gra persvek wer kornari di throdenilti sthyri nomenoi keari. Creol di hesi cirau re yscik ekess zhin ias astahi tangis ios doege. Jaka, svabol tiliw vi mlasup aesthyr hefoc wux tepoha authot ekess xurwk tikilvi dartak wux?"

[SpringsSong]

"Vinxa, cirau ushakal," Charis said, walking into the cave hesitantly, looking around warily as she did so.  She smiled when he said that there was no better place to hide than in this forest, and no place better in the forest to hide than with him.  When he mentioned man's fear of what the could not control, the femme dragon laughed.

"Vur batobot ui ir dril kii si mi drekim maulka. though si nomag vorq hefoc si tiliw ti levnim vi wiap, si tepoha authot karif tisvelkilt persvek sia keari lae vi arytiss," she said, puffing her chest out slightly.  Yes, she was smaller than most dragons her age; she felt that gave her a distinct advantage when in combat.  After all, they were expecting something larger when they were told that a mature adult dragon was after them; not a dragon who looked to be a mere juvenile.

"Keh! - onelka ve, si tepoha tora ekess lekar dout okarthel, vur wux tir ti tangis vucot svabol sia ominak ui," she said, shaking her head.  "Sia ominak ui Charis ux Versvesharytiss, vur si mi vi Vs'shtak arytiss."

[Azura Rayume]

Warrior, eh? It wasn't every day he met a warrior all the way out here, and female warriors were even fewer. Oh, sure, one would show up from time to time, seeking to slay the monster of legend, pillage the treasure stores they assumed he kept, or some such nonsense. Human warriors were almost trivial. He could feel that brave aura that always came with them on her, though, powerful and beating like a war drum or a second heart. He could find no reason to doubt her claim.

"Zyak wux re temep, ti banprivi versvesh, axun?" He had seen many a dragon fight in his youth, and knew that size was not always the determining factor. It was quite possible for someone like her to be a perfect combatant if they could outwit and outmaneuver a larger opponent. "Qeelak mamiss vur qeelak wit tepoha probably letocloa wux persvek yarchonisir siteli lae algbo."

Her introduction brought a smile to his scaled lips. "Charis, hm? Algbo, coi ui sia petranaswin ekess tafiaf wux, Usjalil Charis. Si mi Phrixus, deevdru di ehs, si mi tesantamaso. Ir di thric tobor shar fueryon vur bacri."

[SpringsSong]

"Axun, si tepoha trian tonsalra vur dastudr shafaer sia symba, Ushakal Phrixus," Charis replied, laughing slightly.  "Si tepoha tenqui enela persvek sia qeelak wit ekess jutosh sia harroci, zoti mobi tepoha coanwor throden vi montu svaklar si tepoha barely xurwka coi ekik takh," she added, tracing a line in the stone as she listened to him speak.

When he mentioned being "one of no life but beast and captive," something boiled up in the dragon warrior.  She tossed her head as she said, "Bacri? Vi fueryon? Svaust tepohaic seilor wux persvek mishun vi tobor? Kii shilta wux ti jikmada duulo di nomeno tobor?"

[Azura Rayume]

Phrixus blinked at her a moment, then smiled softly. She was absolutely angry about his fate. That was almost comforting, not to mention working in his favor. Most people were confused or horrified for what had happened to him, though he typically had to play up the sob story a bit more. Apparently he had managed to find the one thing that would really prod her in the direction he needed her to go.

"Si jahus put tenpiswo persvek vin grapwol ghoros nomeno ir," he explained, watching her in case of another outburst, or, he hoped, a reaction in his favor. "Persvek wer tairais di wer zezhuanthi, drong ghoros wux jahen jimosa. Nomeno ui shio si tepoha vucat ihk drongilt loupon si shilta jinthil. Svaust ilroevi put ve tenpiswo, algbo, si tepoha thric ulhyrr. Vi dryicir di hewi, sjek si jinthil harkt, shio gethrisja ini jaka. Vur si shilta ti jutosh qort ekess wer gemuth di wer arcaniss batobot jilgic ve tenpiswo. Si shilta ti jikmada coi sio, zyak si shilta ti jaseve loaw."

[SpringsSong]

"Si mi ti lae ghergo lae wux siofme, Ushakal Phrixus. Si mi ti lae juanth lae wux, shar si mi ti quite lae ghergo lae creol di wer lyrik darastrixi svaust zhin wer thaczil naeck," Charis said, chuckling as she said this.  The gem around her neck glistened for a moment, and she smirked as she layed a gloved claw over it.  She listened a moment longer, and once he mentioned a gathering of mages, the claw grasped the gem even tighter.

"Hewi? Wer rekiix di creol di astahi--siofmeir batobot wer arcaniss batobot astahii shilta ti kampiun ui creolnali batobot astahii shilta xoal vur clax usv stoth mojka..." she said, her voice a low growl.  "Coi ui threndiaw batobot wer munthreki vur vaecaesini vur tundari vur svabol tepoha wux shilta ti qe enela..."

Here, though, she paused.  "Wux yenta batobot wux shilta ti jikmada coi doutan, zyak wux shilta ti jaseve ini doutan. Svabol sjek mobi jahus voga batobot tiliw jikmada wer arcaniss batobot jilgic wux?"