[Freezair]

The phrase "dragon breath" rather offended Daire. Those normal, fire-breathing Paragon tended to have breaths that smelled of wood smoke, and as far as he knew, most people found that pleasing. But Daire himself breathed air that smelled of the loamy wood floor, and he would trade that for nothing else.

The Paragon cozied his face up to the Idalani soil. It was rich, but he would make it richer. He exhaled deeply, magic flowing from his body. The soil practically glowed with the nutrients. The flowers looked unchanged, but in a few days they would explode with color like fireworks.

He laid down in the sun, settling himself into the warm, wet stones, He watched the rainbows dance in the light, yawning deeply. He'd used his ability to fly to get him to one of the more secluded spots, away from the tourists. He normally liked crowds, but these tourists seemed to be unusually bullying. And they did not respond well to being remanded! Today was not the day for spreading chivalry...

[1]

[SpringsSong]

Dolithiel, not unlike her brother, had come up here to escape the tourists and all that lovely crap about being one of the children of the Elemental Paragons.

As she landed on the rich soil, she frowned as she put her claws in the dirt, trying to assess it as Armina had taught her to.  To her, the soil seemed richer here, and to her, there were only two explanations: either some ash from a volcano had blown over this way, or...

"Brother?" she asked in a shocked voice, recognizing the Primal Paragon almost instantly.  She walked over to him, noticing that he was laying on the rocks.  "I take it you were trying to esape from them today as well, aren't you?" she asked, laying down beside him.  She'd missed being with her brother; he was the one person--Paragon--that she really connected to more than anyone else.

[1.2]

[Freezair]

"Dolithiel!" Daire looked up from his flowers so sharply that his head couldn't stop itself. He knocked his horned skull on the low shelf of rock. "Ow! Thank goodness for the old thick skull, eh?" He laughed and turned around.

He laughed even more looking down on his sister--the difference between their species in sizes always made him chuckle. "Doli... Or--do you prefer to be called something else? We so rarely get to see each other any more, sister! Forgive me if I am so deeply behind." He nodded his head in a sort of substitute bow. "How have you been? It's been a while."

He inhaled deeply, sampling the cool, damp air. "Getting away? A little of this, and a little bit of traveling. I thought I'd do a little bit of a public service and spruce up Idalani some. I would be sprucing up the tourists as well, but, sadly, they don't seem to be in the mood for my usual Miss Manners routine." He winked slyly.

[2]

[SpringsSong]

"Oh, Daire," Lithi said, laughing as he commented on "the old thick skull".  She felt small compared to him, but that was mostly thanks to the fact that Placids were naturally small.  She could only imagine how their mother must feel with children that were all considerably taller and larger than her.  After a moment, she laughed as he asked about how things had been going.

"I prefer Lithi, actually," she said, laughing as she flicked her tail slightly.  "And do not worry; I am sure we have plenty to catch up on between the both of us.  After all, it has been a while, Daire," she said.  "I've been well--I've been under the tutelage of a Sygriff who seems to know a great deal about how plants grow and all that, since... unfortunately, I can't seem to enrich the soil or breathe new life into plants."

She laughed as he made the comment about the tourists.  "Ah, I know what you mean, Brother.  Sometimes they... just can't like that we don't always like them being in our space all the time.  Unfortunately, I can't escape just based on my size.  My only escape is my wings--which I utilize often."

[1.4]

[Freezair]

"Mother's side of the family has been treating me well, of course," Daire said. "They run the gammut from slightly less polite than me to absolutely incorrigable. I do, however, understand that many people feel familiarity is more of an excuse to be loose." He chuckled. "I suppose I do understand it."

He breathed deeply again. "Aside from one Tiera, though, most of them and I do get along. I won't mind returning when my travels are done." His eyes creased worriedly. "Are you... alright, though, sister? You sound as if you're being smothered. I believe in kindness myself, but there is an extent to which it is simply too much."

[3]

[SpringsSong]

"Oh, yes; I'm fine," Lithi assured Daire.  "I'm sure that, after a while, the fact of who our parents are won't matter to these tourists anymore.  If not... then I have some friends who know a few tricks to keep people from messing with them."

She smiled as she thought about the two girls who were children of this odd Re'klettan God of Death.  One was an incredibly powerful Fire elemental; the other, a user of what they called Shadow.  The two of them together made a rather... interesting and deadly combination that was not to be messed with.  After a few moments, she looked back at him and smiled.

"It's good to hear that Mother's side of the family has been treating you well," she said.  "Father treated me well, but I felt like it was time for me to travel.  I found myself in an odd place called the Fire-Forests with a few other Paragon, several Lucain, droves upon droves of Kuhnas, and a few other pets, including Armina, my mentor."

[1.6]

[Freezair]

"I don't suppose the tourists know me," I laughed. "Mother usually keeps us low-profile... excepting my nephew Kaimana, whose specialty is staying low-profile in the most bombastic manner possible." He laughed. "They didn't seem to know me directly so much as.. er... get annoyed by some of my mannerisms." He looked sheepish.

"Fire-Forests, eh? Makes me a bit jealous." He laughed. "The family I was born to and the family I've made is all the same. But I have found an interesting mentor, so yes, I'm not without teaching. He's a bit old, and literally crusty in a few places, but that's because he was asleep in stone for a thousand years. He's called Constantinus, or Constantine."

He perked up amusedly. "Let's swap mentor stories, shall we?"

[4]

[SpringsSong]

"Ah, yes; Mother was always good at keeping a low profile.  I've often wondered how she was able to do it." Lithi said, laughing slightly as she said this.  One of the first six Paragon, and she was able to keep such a low profile.

"Oh, the Fire-Forests are quite the lovely place, Daire," she said, her eyes glistening.  "It's located somewhere between Nori and Roraldi.  An odd magic lets the trees burn yet never succumb to ashes.  Quite the interesting host of creatures live here--several other Paragon, most of which seem to be from a realm called Re'klet, including one who calls herself Alyssa and her daughter, Ly'ira.  And as for my mentor..."

Here, she chuckled slightly as she traced the dirt.  "She's a Jewel Sygriff who's well over three hundred years old herself, but she looks no more than twenty or so.  She's apparently from another realm, and there, she's apparently something called a Rose-Angel.  She's got a great affinity for plants, Daire; she's taught me so much about how to grow things.  Since I can't really enrich the soil as you can, she's... taught me most of everything I know about growing things and analyzing the soil.  She gave me a part of her gift that lets me see where the best place to grow things is."

Here, she paused.  "And this... Constantinus?  What's he like?"

[1.8]

[Freezair]

Daire tried to picture the flaming trees and wondered. Honestly, if he thought about it, that was what his power should have been like, shouldn't it? Permanently burning, permanently charcoled trees. Instead, he was able to combine the richness of charcol with the earth to make it better. How strange.

"Well, Constantine is, as I stated, more than a thousand years old. He slept deep within the Craiss Caverns, literally made of stone, until he was accidentally awoken. He seems to have known Mother, maybe in another life... Maybe a thousand years ago. I do enjoy listening to him. He is very wise, and he comes from an era in which things were done... differently. This does not always agree with the modern day," Daire admitted. He hung his head.

"He has some difficulties dealing with humans. Back in his day, creatures did not take human form, and he considers it a sort of weakness to do so. But he is very wise. He has some abilities related to stones--stone shields, shaping the rock, and others. I've no aptitude for that, but hearing of the past that he lived is fascinating."

[5]

[SpringsSong]

"That's... quite interesting, I must say," Lithi said, nodding as she flicked her tail slightly.  "I know of no people with the ability to manipulate stone, just... fire and water and these odd things called 'shadows' and... a host of other elements.  Hearing about some of the Other-World beings' lives is certainly interesting, especially Armina's.  Apparently her life is tied to a single Rose, much like a Dryad is tied to a single tree, and if anything happens to that tree, the Dryad also suffers for it."

She listened as Daire mentioned that this Constantine did not like humans, or had problems dealing with them, or... something like that.  She herself rarely took to her human form, and when she did, it was solely to blend in with the crowds unnoticed.  It was more like a defense for her than anything else, but each person was entitled to their opinion about the ability to take on human forms.  She shrugged as she said, "I find human forms quite helpful.  It makes it... shall we say, easier to blend in with the crowds in a way?"

[2.0]

[Freezair]

"I never could manage it," Daire sighed. "But I don't mind. I find there's a certain elegance in being large and tough. It gives me some clout, even if I am not a warrior. It is, admittedly, a shame that people stil judge by those factors."

Daire looked thoughtful. "Dryads, eh? I've known dryads. Is she... connected to just the rose, or the entire rosebush? Could someone pick out a boquet for their loved one without harming her, or would going for the wrong flower... am I overthinking this?"

[6]

[SpringsSong]

"Just the one rose, and it is kept safely guarded by one who she refers to as 'the Gardener'.  Her Rose has only died twice; once because her friend picked it, and another because she was born in Wilt'no in that life--not an ideal location for a rose to grow," Lithi said, chuckling slightly as she began to trace a rose on the ground.

"It is a shame that people judge us like that.  The other Placid that lives with me is far from what Placids are considered; in fact, she's an assassin." Lithi said, her wings fluttering slightly.

[2.2]

[Freezair]

"Have you ever noticed the proliferation of assassins in Evelon?" Daire shuddered, as if a ghost passed through him. "One really wonders how many people honestly need... need... well, you know." The word caught in Daire's throat. "Thank goodness I have not met any of their like. Most distasteful." He stuck out his tongue, as if to prove a point.

"So she remembers being reincarnated, eh? Curious." He laughed. "Constantine remembers Mother's past life, but she doesn't at all. It is curious..."