Suddenly Very Busy (open)

[Erzbet Bathry]

Erzbet slid down the wing, landing gracefully despite how shaken up she was. She looked back at the dragon. "I believe you." She said softly, wishing the words were more than partially true. She stared at the lake. It was beautiful, she had to admit. She meandered to the edge, dipping one foot in. It was pleasantly cool. She put both feet in, a the ghost of a smile on her face.

"I usually don't scare that easy." Erzbet said, staring across the lake. She couldn't believe how easily she succumbed to fear. What happened to the panther the villagers feared? She might as well have screamed. She shuddered at the idea. "Usually, I'm the one scaring others." She thought of the few humans that dared to enter the jungle. They usually took one look at her and fled. To be at the other end of the equation was unnerving.

[Julias]

Landon felt her slide from his wing and step off gracefully, she looked at him then and said she believed him. He bowed his head graciously to her and watched her move to the edge of the rocks where the water was closest, she dipped her feet in and held a small smile on her face. He gave a small chuckle before swiftly turning and climbing to the top of the rocks, he offered a simple reply to her statement

"I'm not here to eat you Ezbert, I already had breakfast this morning. Deer is quite filling." He offered a very large toothy smile, his long sharp teeth showing as he did, he jumped then from the tall rock he had climbed onto and with a spin hit he water with a large splash. The waves rolled up onto the rocks and a spray of water droplets rained around Ezbert, In the water Landon twisted around skillfully, churning the water around him. He pushed himself to the surface with his wings, quickly before he reached the surface he put his skin back on. His human head broke the surface not to far from the rocks, he smiled at Ezbert and spoke with a restrained smile.

"Are you still scared now?" He asked offering his best smile, he didn't want her to be uncomfortable when he was a dragon. He figured the change would ease her thoughts about him eating her, he peddled closer to the rocks edge and laid his arms across the rocks by Ezbert. He looked up at her his head turned to the left, she was quite pretty with the sun hitting her the way it did, he looked away shyly and said nothing.

[Erzbet Bathry]

To normal humans, their conversation would have seemed strange. Repulsive, even. To Erzbet, it reminded her of home. The eat-or-be-eaten world seemed so much simpler than civilization. There were no complicated social etiquettes or messy relationships. You ate, slept, wandered, and fought for your life. She'd been here so long, she was beggining to forget what it felt like. She remembered an old shaman from the village chuckling when her mother had gone to him with the plan. "Of course I'll do it." He'd said with a wicked smile. "Civilization that big will take the fight out of her. You can't be a lady and a panther." At the time, she'd disregarded his words. Now she wasn't so sure.

"I've never had deer." She said thoughtfully. She hadn't hunted since she'd enrolled. It was the perfect thing to help her keep her edge. She watched him writhe around in the water. Swimming was not her forte. There seemed to be a lot about him that made her feel inferior. When he asked her if she was still scared, she couldn't resist the urge to tease him.

"Of course I am." She said with a slight grin.. "You looked like you were trying to drown yourself." She sat down, her feet still in the water. "Being a dragon can't be that bad." Out of all the types of conversation she'd learned, teasing came the easiest. Maybe because it reminded her or when she would play with her prey before she ate it. Regardless, it was the one part of socializing she was sure she could do correctly.

[Julias]

Landon couldn't help but turn and smile, his voice questioning in slight curiosity

"Never? Well let me tell you, its better than cow and 100 times better than anything else crawling around these woods." he shook his head, water flung out in different directions. He ruffled his hair with a dripping hand, he pushed off the rock and floated back a little.
She seemed a little more comfortable now, he was happy about that. He teased back splashing at her

"Cuz im a big bad dragon and everyones afraid of me." He chuckled and added

"I'm a very good swimmer, I dont think i'll ever drown in my own element." He tilted his head as she said that being a dragon cant be that bad, he spoke truthfully

"Actually it's kind of hard, living in a society locked away by time and the fact that if anyone knew we existed we would be destoryed and our kind killed in a genocidal war against humans. It's hard to hide a 3 ton dragon that shines blue scales you know." He pointed a thumb at himself with a jagged expression that quickly changed to a smile, he laughed and splashed at her again. He wasnt sure why she had said that but he knew she was probably thinking about her own situation, he swam to the rocks again and asked looking up at her with a serious look

"Why do you say that anyways? You cant be that bad off can you?" He tilted his head, he was oddly curious about her. She seemed to have a lot hidden behind her cool teasing exterior, he decided that he wanted to find out more about the girl.

[Erzbet Bathry]

"I've never had cow either." She said with a sigh. "I must be losing my touch." She was only half-joking. Maybe the shaman was right. Maybe civilization was taking the fight out of her. She decided that the first chance she had, she would hunt just for the sake of hunting. She looked at Landon. Even in human form, there was something imposing about him.

...if anyone knew we existed we would be destroyed. She flinched. An image of her father, broken and bleeding, flashed through her mind. She scooted back from the water's edge. She brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She couldn't meet his eyes. "I know the feeling." She muttered.

"The villagers...they weren't too happy with us." She realized too late her mistake. "Us" made it obvious she wasn't the only Bicorne in the jungle. "Most of the time we managed to stay out of their way." Another gaffe. She'd never told anyone about her father, but she was coming dangerously close to doing so now.

[Julias]

Landon watched as she pulled from the water and wrapped her arms around her legs, she had pulled further into her shell not telling him about her home. She seemed to be wanting to keep it secret, Landon shrugged aside his other questions. He didn't take his eyes from her as he spoke kindly


"Oh.. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." His hand came up but stopped, he put it back in the water and swam off from the rocks. He knew better than to touch people, the water swirled around him. He didn't have to peddle his hands or feet as the water pushed him up and kept him at the surface. He didnt say anything as he slowly drifted back and out into the lake, his figure slowly floating to the middle as he laid back and softly chastised himself for almost slipping up again.


His brother had taught him a few things before he had came and that as to trust very little in the people around you. He also told him to never touch another person close to you, some people can be very defensive and strike without warning or care. He kept his distance from Ezbert now not wanting to move closer, he figured if she wanted to put up walls then so would he. His arms crossed around him as he laid on the waters surface, he looked up at the sky not bothering to say anything else. Something said he wouldn't have to, Ezbert seemed like the type that would think to herself for awhile before thinking about conversing with anyone, Landon took the time to relax without bother.

[Erzbet Bathry]

Of course he didn't mean it. She knew that. It was getting difficult to think through the grief. She hated crying at all, let alone crying in front of another person. She never had to worry about it when she was in panther form. Now she rested her head on her knees, taking deep breaths. She fought back the tears everytime they threatened to surface. For a few moments it was all she did. When it was bearable. She raised her head just as she realized her cheek was wet. A few runaway tears had managed to get through. She grimaced.

"Stupid tear ducts." She muttered, wiping at her cheeks furiously.. How humans survived with so much fluids leaking out of them was a mystery to her. One of the many things about humans that mystified her. Technology...well that was a hopeless case. She was getting used to flourescent lights, but that's where it ended. She looked out on the water to see Landon floating around.

"I didn't mean to chase you away." She called out softly, attempting a smile. Since she didn't smile much normally, the smile wouldn't come. "At least, not this time." She muttered to herself. People, even those in the school, were quick to make attachments. Friends, best friends, crushes, boyfriends, girlfriends. All useless words in the jungle. You had your family and your mate. Things were simpler when there were less people attached to you. Every person you loved was another weakness. And she hated being weak.

[Julias]

Landon watched as Ezbert wiped the tears from her eyes, he couldnt help but feel he had done something to make her uncomfortable. He kept a distance until she called out to him, he looked back and started a slow move back to the rocks she sat on. He floated closer but kept a distance of about 5 feet from her as he sat on the water, he used his knowledge of the water to push himself upward so he would not have to swim. His faced showed concern as he sat and watched Ezbert for a moment before speaking in a soft tone

"You didnt chase me away, I didnt know what to say." He looked away, the look of concern didnt leave his face as he turned back and asked

"What has gotten you so upset dear Ezbert? Was it something I had said or asked?" His eyes stayed on hers this time, he hoped she wouldn't cry again. He wasn't the type that was able to watch and do nothing as someone was in pain or agony like Ezbert seemed to be. She had a look of longing when she pulled away and went to her own mind, he couldn't help but feel like he knew the feeling. He hadn't been away from home long enough to know that feeling yet though, his own mind churned to his family. He pushed it aside as he came back to Ezbert, he tilted his head slightly in a curious look. He spoke softly again

"I dont know what your feeling Ezbert, but I can say that I am away from my home also. I haven't been away long but I do know that I miss them and the comfort of my home, but we push through that and move on with our destiny." He moved closer and held out a hand to her with a soft smile, his eyes offering care and understanding to her situation. His hand still outstretched he offered a small comment

"Your not alone in the world Ezbert, you always have people to count on even if you dont believe it yourself." He kept his hand outstretched as he stood, his feet meeting the water. He stood like he would on solid cement, he used his knowledge of the water and its powers to create a solid stepping stone on the water for himself.

[Erzbet Bathry]

Dear Erzbet? She didn't think about that for too long. There were other things dominating her attention. He looked so concnered, as if he actually cared about her problems. Maybe he did. This wasn't the jungle afterall. You could sympathize with someone who wasn't related to or had mated with you. "I'm not used to it." She said in her normal cryptic way. She always did have a problem with explaining herself. "People unconnected to you...caring about your problems." The concept of friends was still something she was getting used to. And acquaintences, and frenemies, and friends with benefits...ugh.

"It was...a memory." She said simply. She thought about telling him the truth. She hadn't told a soul about her father's death. Up until now there'd been no one to tell. But she couldn't. Not yet. She was still sifting through the feelings it brought up. Still figuring out how communicate those feelings when she finally figured out what they were. "It...pops up unexpectedly from time to time." She wondered if the pauses in her speech annoyed him. They did for many. Her teachers thought she was slow. In reality, school wasn't that difficult for her. She never realized how much there was to know. She liked knowing things, even if she would never use them. For once she was learning about things that she didn't have to know to keep herself alive. It was refreshing.

But she did have to think about things before she said them. Blunt remarks could easily be seen as insults, statement of fact could be seen as a threat. So many little hints and nuances to human interaction. When did the learn it? Did their parents tell them? Was it just a natural sense, as deeply ingrained in their mind as hunger or pain? She couldn't figure it out and had yet to work up the courage to ask.

When Landon spoke of the "comfort" of home, she had to laugh. There was no comfort in the jungle. "My home wasn't comfortable." She said with small smile. "But it was simple and... easy to understand." Eat or be eaten, kill them before they kill you. Self-preservation made thinking almost unnecessary. Unless you needed to know where the best place to hunt was, or who you needed to avoid. Usually because they were stronger than you and could kill you.

She frowned as he spoke of people to count on. As far as she knew, the only person she could really count on was an ocean away. She hadn't made friends. Aside from Chase. But they'd only had a strange conversation early one morning. Did that make them friends? She didn't think so. She stared at his hand for a moment. "How do you know that?" She asked, standing up. She took his hand hesitantly. How was he doing that? She looked down at the water, then up at him. A dragon power? What else could this boy do?

[Julias]

Landon stood on the water and watched her stand, he felt the hesitation as she did. He pulled her then, slowly to the water forcing up more of the liquid to hold her weight as well. He spoke as she moved closer keeping his voice level and confident

"Because no matter where you go or what you do there are always good people out there, and even if you dont find them to often they still exist." His face took a soft tone, he couldnt say much else to her. Something about the way she carried herself made her seem much more independent than she was, he was suprised that she had opened up like she did so soon to him. He couldnt put a finger on it, he floated away from the edge holding Ezberts hand feeling the tension pull at her. He smiled and offered a small bit of comfort

"Dont worry, I promise I wont let you fall in." he smiled at her, a wide playful grin. He was determined to not let her stay gloomy, he liked to see her smile and wanted to keep her that way. He felt the water dripping from the shorts he had slid on out of her veiw, the soft push from the water below pushing him and Ezbert up and not letting them fall into the water below. He felt the soft wind rustle past them again as they stood on the water floating effortlessly on the surface, Landon turned and faced the lake. He couldnt be sure what to say anymore, he wasnt that gread at comforting and offering condolences to people in times of struggle. He could only fight what he could see and feelings were not something he could fight, he didnt say anything as he stared out past the water. His blue eyes sparkling with the water below.

[Erzbet Bathry]

"You sound very hokey." She said honestly, taking timid steps. How her mother would laugh to see her so afraid. She wasn't afraid of water. But this was unnatural. How much magic did dragons have? She'd never looked at her own abilities. They were basically extremely intelligent panthers. She could think and reason like humans. A lot of the time better than humans. They tended to focus on the more unessential factors of life. She was more of the "be glad you're still breathing" set.

When he smiled, it coaxed a small smile out of her. She wasn't used to using much of her facial features, though she was told when she could look downright terrifying when she wanted to. But looking terrifying and controlling the muscles of her face were too very different things. Most of the time it was the ghost of a smile. Sometimes a grin, when she was up to it. "Do you do this often?" She asked, wondering if it was another first, like the flying. She hoped not. She could swim, but there was always the slight fear. If he did let go, she would probably have to switch to her true form.

She wasn't very adept at reading people, but it looked like he felt awkward. The feeling was mutual. She hated crying. Maybe that's why humans didn't survive for so long. They were constantly leaking various fluids. She looked around, up at the sky, anywhere but at the water beneath her feet. "How much can you do?" She said, partially to herself. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to see the extent of his abilities.