[SkyWolf11]

A large shadow raced over the sands of the Dead Coast.  It was the shadow of a large Battleheart.  Up high in the air, the Battleheart named Quillaq was carrying two elderly passengers as well as a Rabbot AC1 - that was Zephion, or Z as he preferred.

"Looks like we've arrived.  Where shall we land?" Quillaq asked in a gruff voice.  The elderly couple both smiled and laughed in happiness.  "Oh, right there on the coast would be fine, laddie." the old man pointed down.  His wife nodded.

Quillaq went in for a  slow and bumpy descent, landing hard on the sandy beach, throwing sand up into the wind.  He leaned down as close to the ground as he could and allowed them all to slide off his wings.  They all dismounted, Z being the last.

"What a help.  Thank you dearly, dearies." the wife thanked.  Both she and the man bowed graciously to the pair.  Z, the hired bodyguard, smiled and returned the bow, holding his katana.  "It was our pleasure, sir and ma'am."  "We could have never made it through the Roraldi Forest safely without you both." the man said.  The lady dug out a few ks and handed them to Z, who put them in a small pouch he had tied around his katana.


The couple started into town, passing Quillaq and giving a few final bows before waving and continuing.  He nodded and turned to Z.  "Should we head back?"

"Not right away.  We can hang around for a bit and see if anyone else needs our assistance here."  Who knew ... maybe they'd find another person in need of their services here ...

[1] [1]

[SkyWolf11]

Only a few minutes passed by before Quillaq found himself thoroughly bored.  He certainly didn't have as much patience for waiting than Z had, who was content just standing silently by and staring into space.

"How much longer are we going to stay here doing nothing?" he asked impatiently.  His tail involuntarily began to swish back and forth in the salty sands, making a large groove pattern.

Z flicked his eyes over to his larger partner.  His face stayed unchanged.  "Well ... what did you have in mind to do now?" he asked simply.  To him, his job was complete.  Usually that meant heading right home afterwards, that is if no one else in the immediate area needed his assistance.  He wasn't one for sightseeing as Quillaq was.

Quillaq shifted with growl and gazed towards the small city of Dead Coast.  It was only the early morning hours, seeing as the job had lasted nearly a full day.  Roraldi was tricky to maneuver through at night and had slowed them down.  "Would there be any harm in doing a little window shopping?  Or perhaps, a quick snack before heading back?" he switched his gaze onto Z.  

Z looked over at the city then back at the Battleheart.  "We did receive payment ... I suppose that we could treat ourselves to something."  He patted the small pouch with the ks in it that hung from his sword hilt.  "Alright.  Let's go check things out in town." he finally decided.

Quillaq wasn't about to argue.  He needed something to do - anything really.  As long as he didn't have to sit around with nothing to do at all.  Plus, he was a bit hungry.  With a nod they both started towards the town.

[2] [2]

[SkyWolf11]

The pair soon found themselves in the streets of the city, searching for a good place to snack.  By now, Quillaq's stomach was growling, and quite loudly.  He couldn't help it!  Nowadays whenever he thought about food enough he would become hungry.  It was strange ... and unknown.

Zephion shot a glare back his way.  Quillaq shrugged and growled a sigh.  "Are you really that hungry?" Z asked.  "Now I am ... thinking about food gets my hunger growing." he growled.  Z raised an eyebrow and nodded slowly.  Nope, didn't understand it either, and he wasn't about to question it further.

Up ahead, he spotted a small hotdog and hamburger stand sitting alongside a sidewalk.  He stopped in his tracks, forcing Quillaq to do the same.  He looked around, overlooking the stand, and huffed.  "Why'd we stop?  What is it?" he asked.  Z pointed towards the stand.  "See that?  That stand.  Would that suffice for now?"

Quillaq leaned forward, squinting to see what Z was talking about.  Finally the stand came into his sight and he smiled.  "Yes - that will do nicely ... for now, anyways."  Z headed towards the stand, Quillaq in foot.

[3] [3]

[SkyWolf11]

Approaching the stand, the keeper glanced up and smiled at the Rabbot.  Quillaq dipped his head under the cloth roof of the stand and drew in the delicious aromas that wafted his way.  The man behind the stand jumped back with a gasp at the huge head now inches from his face.  He hadn't noticed the huge creature until now.

"Whoa!  H-hey!  Personal space, please!" he shrieked at Quillaq nervously.  Obviously he wasn't a fan of Battlehearts.  

At first, Quillaq paid no attention to the frightened man.  The enticing food was too much of a distraction for him.  He growled in delight and licked his lips.  Z rolled his eyes and tapped the dragon on the tip of his scaly nose.  "A little room if you please, Quillaq!" he asked roughly.  Quillaq's eyes locked onto Z's and he sighed.  "Oh, alright.  Killjoy..." he murmured before shifting backwards.

Z bowed to the stand's owner.  "My apologizes, sir." he said with a straight face.  The keeper nodded shakily and resumed his place behind the stand.  "So uh, what will ya have?"

Before Z could speak, Quillaq butted his head back under the roof.  "Could I get about 10 hotdogs and, let's see ... 6 burgers?" he flashed a toothy grin that made the guy inch back again.  Z shot him a shocked glance at the amount he wanted.  'Big creature, big stomach I suppose...' he thought, making a grab for his ks pouch.  Hopefully this little 'snack' wouldn't diminish all their funds.

[4] [4]

[SkyWolf11]

Z slowly began counting out the correct amount.  Once the right amount had been sorted and placed onto the counter top, only a meager amount of about 10 keystones or less remained - almost 1/5 of what they originally had.  

"You had best be thankful that we had enough." Z said gruffly as he repositioned the ks pouch around his sword.  Quillaq awed with joy and nodded.  "Oh I am, believe me.  I'm starving!"

The owner, a bit shocked by the size of the single order, proceeded to fix the food.  It took only a matter of minutes before the 16 food items were pilled upon the counter, steaming delightfully.  "Alright then, here is your order.  Would you like it in a to go bag or ... ?" the man asked, reaching for a small paper bag.

"No no, no need for a bag.  That's what hands are for." Quillaq chuckled as he scooped up the entire order with one huge hand.  Growling happily, he turned and began walking away back towards the city's perimeter to enjoy his snack, much to the shaky man's relief.  Z glanced back then bowed towards the owner and too turned to follow the large dragon.

Z walked up beside Quillaq and sighed.  "You and your appetite..." he said softly.  The Battleheart, who was taking his time gnawing on a hotdog stuck upon a claw, looked down with a "hmm?"  "Oh come on, it's not my fault that my stomach is one of my top priorities."  he retorted, shoving the remainder of the hotdog into his mouth.

[5 = lvl 2] [5 = lvl 2]

[SkyWolf11]

Reaching the end of the street, the stretch of the salty beach reached out to the dark waters.  The gentle slushing of the waves was relaxing in a sense.  At least it did a fair job at drowning out the obnoxious yelling of stand owners trying to draw in customers.  

Z rubbed his sore neck with a grunt.  Being a body guard, the journey was extremely tiresome.  Not a wink of sleep was to have been gotten, oh no.  He had to keep an ever watchful eye open and alert the whole journey, even while the clients had found time to catch a few Zs.  Standing alone on the last bit of sidewalk was a worn looking wooden bench.  It would do for Z.  He plopped his tired body down and sighed as the wood creaked loudly.  Quillaq, far to large for the bench, took a seat behind it.  

Z looked at him with disbelief.  Here he was, feeling as though he'd fall apart at any moment from exhaustion and the great lug was awake as he could be.  "I don't get it... How can you be so vigilant and awake when your part was more exhausting than mine?" he sighed, tired eyes glancing up at the huge Battleheart.

[6] [6]

[SkyWolf11]

"What's that?" he said in a muffled voice.  "Oh ... yeah.  Heck if I know."  He swallowed hard and started on another of his food items.  Though, Z did have a good point.  Not only did Quillaq have to stay awake and alert as he did, but he also had to trudge through the treacherous terrain.  And when he wasn't fighting the earthly elements, he was giving his wings a workout by flying, sometimes for miles on end.

"Maybe it's because I sleep more often than needed.  I probably have energy to spare." he shrugged.  It made sense to him at least.

Z nodded in agreement.  It was a response he wouldn't argue... not at the moment anyways.  "Perhaps friend ... perhaps." he growled, stretching.  His sword clacked against the wood.  He rested a paw on it.  As of late, he had slacked in his daily training.  The time spent sparring and perfecting techniques dwindled little by little each day.  'If I wasn't so tired, I'd get in a few swings right now.' he thought.  

[7] [7]

[SkyWolf11]

The slowly rising sun warmed the air and Z.  He smiled in comfort.  This certainly was relaxing.  And after being stuck at home with nothing to do, getting out and getting the blood boiling was a nice change if only for a day.  Shifting an arm behind his head for a makeshift pillow, he let his eyes close and soon he had drifted off into a nice blissful sleep.

Quillaq finished off the last bit of food he had cupped in his hand with a soft growl.  He savored the taste, chewing slowly, then swallowed.  "Ah!  Goodbye hunger and hello sweet sweet satisfaction!" he chuckled loudly.  

He began licking his claws free of any lingering crumbs of his snack, then he noticed something that hadn't quite been before the long trip.  Small calluses and fresh blisters dotted his hand, along with small traces of dirt and muck.  He held up his other claw to compare.  They were similar.  "Goodness ... what a mess.  Thanks to Roraldi Forest no doubt." he observed, rubbing his claws together.  How was he to have noticed?  After all, his nerves were shot...  He could have had a gaping gash clear through to the bone and still not have known.  'Maybe special gloves should be considered...' he smiled as a picture of special steel plated gloves came to mind.  Hey, it was possible.

He looked down at the Rabbot and smirked.  Not only was he asleep now but was also snoring ... and quite loudly.  

[8] [8]

[SkyWolf11]

Looking a last time at his scaly hands, Quillaq slowly stood as to not wake Z.  "Maybe I should go find out if this place has a hot springs or hot tub place of some sort." he thought aloud in a gruff whisper.  Some warm water paired with possible healing salts could do some good for his worn pads.

Looking at Z, he debated whether or not he should wake him to tell him where he was going.  ...  No.  No no, he was worn out and needed a few minutes of rest at least.  Surely he wouldn't get into trouble that would cause him to be away for long...  And Z was well able to fend for himself with that sword and all.  "Yeah, I'll go alone." he decided.  Spotting the ks pouch hanging from the sword he made a slow grab for it.  "I just might need that." he whispered.  A slight tug and the pouch string untangled and slid from the hilt.

As quietly as he could, he shifted his armored body around and started back into the town.  He could still hear the loud snoring of the Rabbot from a few feet away and knew that he hadn't awakened him.

"Now now ... where to look first?"

[9] [9]

[SkyWolf11]

People's shocked stares and worried whispering made Quillaq chuckled as he passed them on the winding street.  "You would think people never saw a Battleheart up close!" he said in dismay with a shake of his huge head.  But, for all he knew, perhaps that was indeed the problem!  In fact, taking a good look around, a sensible Battleheart with a more textbook personality and attitude would have no business here, in such a small town.  And there was very few creatures living here by the looks.  "How odd this place is..."

Z, meanwhile, was still napping and totally oblivious by his large friend's journey back into town.  His tail, slumped lazily over the armrest of the bench, twitched ever so slightly every few seconds.  How one could sleep so willynilly out in a public place was strange to say the least, but it seemed not to bother any passerbyes who merely glanced at him and continued on their way.

Quillaq marched onward, window shopping.  All that this town seemed to have was everything ocean related.  In all his walking so far, only one little clothing store shined through the countless suviener shops.  'I guess that is to be expected.' he thought.  This was a tourist attraction, though why he would never understand.  Salt was the main talk here and he hated the stuff personally.  He shook his head at the obsurdity of this place and turned a corner.  Maybe this street would have more of a possibility of what he was looking for.

[10 = lvl 3] [10 = lvl 3]

[[ Ended because it wasn't going anywhere ...  Dx;; ]]