wake up from your reverie a light year from reality A day or two had passed since reemerging within this cave. It was a difficult matter in getting through a flooded passage; some, seemingly all sections were far too high for the small pup but miraculously he found his way out of the overfilled tunnel. Muscles ached from the constant use in pulling through water, however, the sensation started to become dull at every hour. Climbing up a few rocks here and there, form crawled out from opening into a familiar room. Ah, this area, Pisces. Where he began and the last place he had seen dragon friend before running off. Thinking of such, he wondered where they stood now. The fact in which something was burdening everyone within this cave made him worry about the large creature. A fault on his side for having ran off out of excitement; perhaps that was why eyes fired back at him? Fickleness? Shaking head he would have to track down friend some kind of way. Placing nose onto hard ground, he sniffed along and circled the place before merging over into a tunnel that could possibly lead him to somewhere. At this point, nose was practically dragging on the ground. A few scents here and some over there; nothing entirely noteworthy, however. Slowing down his pace and search, organ stood raw from the constant rubbing it endured, lightly bleeding as a result. It was not a worry despite the soreness, licking it every now and then to remove the smell of iron. Hm, this place was also something he had crossed. Though it was short lived, only remembering a creature whose name he could not recall. Stepping out of the entrance to this room, he felt around to see whether anything was there to tell if this were a different room. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. A small smile crossed his face at the light smell of plants; delighted to endure the scent once again. Bringing his head back down, he winced at his nose soreness before continuing on deeper into this sector. Empty this place appeared to be, not picking up any thought provoking scents. It seemed this way the last time he came through, wondering if it were truly vacant now. Though there was a possibility nose gave up for the meantime due to tenderness. Lifting skull back up, he would finally issue organ a break, continuing to wander this plant filled place. Although it was not long before he made a mistake in his step, falling into a pool of water, moving about frantically and yelping before realizing he was not going to drown. With that, he decided to remain in the pool, seating himself and laying head just above water and allowing nose to soak. Thoughts tried sorting out the best rooms he would likely find any known company, creating bubbles while he sorted for such thing. "Kyo Speaks"

@Baratheon

Ever since that encounter where he'd nearly taken the bear and lamb's life he'd been living on the edges of society, afraid to interact with more than a few gembounds. He knew he wouldn't rampage or hurt others since he'd recently sated himself but he couldn't force himself to be around the main portion of the cave, not with the guilt eating away at him. In this way he became more of a hermit, living alone and keeping to himself as a solitary beast was. That was what he was, wasn't he? One of the only dragons in the cave and the only one cursed as he was by the Bloodlust.

The white beast heaved a sigh as he walked on with choppy steps to help relieve the soreness from his burnt scales. Feeling sorry for himself wouldn't help anything, he had to bounce back, had to find a way to keep his spirits up even through the last slip up. How could he though? The whole thing had made an indent in his mind, a permanent scar that would take time to heal.

Quite suddenly a yipping sound alerted the dragon to another presence, his ears pricked and for a brief moment he felt a flush of fear before he shook his head and snapped himself out of it. It was just a young canine, nothing to be alarmed about. He was fed, he was fine, he could control himself. But... Was the canine in trouble? Those yips had sounded as if the pup in question were frantic. After briefly considering this the dragon couldn't stop himself from swinging around and heading straight towards where he had heard the sound. His heavy pawsteps would likely be heard as he finally neared the spot where he saw a grayish dog with bright... feathers? How peculiar.

The young dog appeared to be lying peacefully in the water. Ah, perhaps he should leave the creature be... He turned to go but stopped when he noticed something familiar about that ashen pelt. Was that...

"Kyorai?"

---

342
@Kyorai
---
5/10

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

wake up from your reverie a light year from reality The pup ducked under the water a couple of times, finding it weird and ticklish from whatever had gave off the sensation. Thoughts could not understand why parts of him had become sensitive to his movements, trembling from how overbearing it stood at times. Eyes were covered for a brief moment before snapping open at the sound of steps. Oh no, perhaps this would be a menacing creature this time? Holding still, he remained quiet to see whether steps would go by or draw closer. Entirety was under hold, even breathing was light in its work. He kept to his "hiding" well, but once he heard his name, barrier shattered and eyes had batted around to find the voice's creator. Sight, after some time, caught the appearance of a large figure. Staring blankly, mind figured out the creature once a few seconds went by. "Bara!" He barked, hopping out of the pool only to be tripped by his own paws. Quite quick to have moved, but it did not take long to recover from sudden fall. Body gave itself a fast shake before sprinting on over to where he heard the dragon. He came to a sliding stop before ramming into anything. Pausing for a few seconds, mind finally swept away excitement to a more content state, sauntering near found company and planting self right next to them. "There." He stated, pleased to have reconnected with a being he known. Though something about the dragon seemed out of place as he sniffed the air around them. "You smell different." He told, scooting closer to them to try and examine them further. Of course, it could be nose; it certainly was not in its best condition right now. Kyorai scanned Baratheon's body, noticing a part that was discolored slightly. He went over to said part, looking to lick it to see if it would come off. "Whatcha got on ya? You should wash it off!" He implied, looking over at the pool of water before fully gazing up at his company with a curious face, wondering what had been done while gone. "Kyo Speaks"

@Baratheon

It seemed that it was indeed his little pup friend. The dragon let out a chuckle at Kyorai's enthusiasm, head lowering so that he could get a closer look at the tiny pooch. It seemed as if he'd gotten a few additions since he'd seen him last. A few bright colors lay across his body in the form of feathers, it was eye-catching and fascinating to the dragon. Had he had a rebirth of his own? Hmm... curious, that. The next words out of his mouth gave the dragon pause. Smelled different? Did he? Was it his new wounds? The scorch-marks on his chest? "It is good to see you, little one." He turned one large pink eye on the tiny dog, curiosity in his gaze. "Smell different?" He questioned.

As he theorized it was his chest that seemed to throw off the young canine. He walked over and licked at the burn marks that marred his pink scales and though it stung a bit, the dragon endured it like an indulgent father with only a slight grunt to signal any displeasure. "I'm afraid scars don't work that way, Kyorai." Should he explain what had happened? The hound should in some way be informed of what had happened. "Especially not burn scars. I should think I'll have these for a very long time." He couldn't bring himself to do it, at least not unprompted. He didn't want to ruin what one friend he had now, since the incident with Leon this was the first time he could feel happiness boiling through his blood.

Trying to get the focus from his new scars and the soreness of his chest, he motioned with his nose horn to the canine's own body. "What about you? I see there are feathers all over you now... What happened to you?" Had someone hurt him to prompt such a change? He hoped not, someone hurting such an innocent child would make his blood boil with an entirely different emotion.

---

333
@Kyorai
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5/10

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

wake up from your reverie a light year from reality Head nodded when the dragon turned his statement into a question. They, indeed, smelled different even if there were a lot of possibilities that could have led to the shift in scent. Though those listed possibilities would not leave something entirely separate from the original. Sneaking another sniff, he let out a small cough and a lick of tender nose in reacting to the weird stench to come from the certain discolored area. He was then told they were scars, tilting his skull with a confused gaze. Such thing seemed bad when considering how out there it was and the disapproving sound of his licking earlier. Thoughts wanted to disbelief most of what was said, but had they said anything previously in which deserved to be taken lightly? He huffed, displeased at how the scars looked upon his scaly friend. It would surely have to be something in getting use to, even though he wanted to think of ways to get rid of it. However, he could not stop two questions from nipping at him. "But, why do you have them? Does it mean you're sick?" He asked, humming as he stared at the scars more and more. Quickly taking a leaf from the ground, he gave it a lick and stuck to the scar, wondering if such could help. Not long after, attention was directed toward himself, raising a brow at the mention of feathers. What was this now, he had some things growing out from him? The pup had not realized his change in wear, mostly because of the darkness and the fact he did not care about the way he looked. Head went over shoulders, attempting to have a glimpse at his back. Barely could he see bright splotches upon it, uttering out an "oh" once realizing the thing behind his sensitivity to certain things. At first, he snorted; second, he went on to think back to what might have resulted in this. Eyes lit up once recalling the last action he had done before disappearing for some time. "I didn't even know they were there! Hm, my eyes back before were not their greatest. I believed they were on fire! It hurt so much. Although they're better now!" He babbled, falling onto rump and covering one eye with his paw. Body shivered from said previous feeling, remembering some type of pressure behind his eyes. However, such sensation was gone now so, no need to wallow in it! "Kyo Speaks"

@Baratheon

Such childish innocence, he hadn't yet been exposed to the hell that was a battle. He hoped the small pup never would but he knew it was a foolish wish, everyone had to fight at some point. Whether the fight was for a righteous reason or simply to fulfill some instinctual desire... that would be up for time to decide. "I was... in a fight... Kyorai." There was hesitation in his words. Usually he was proud of his accomplishments but this time it was hardly an accomplishment when he nearly murdered two innocent creatures. "That's where I got these burns from. I'm not sick... at least, not in the way that you are thinking." He fought with himself, wanting to warn Kyorai of what he was but not wanting to ruin his friendship with the tiny pup as well... In the end he would probably end up revealing it. He didn't want to hurt anyone and in the end he needed to help the pup protect himself.

The dragon became distracted from his thoughts by Kyorai attempting to put a leaf over the scar. Despite himself he let out a small laugh as it stuck for a moment before fluttering back to the earth. "They'll heal, in time." Or he thought they would, perhaps not, if they didn't he deserved it. He gave a shake of his head, attempting to clear his thoughts as they focused back on the young canine. He revealed that he didn't know that the feathers were upon his body which which was not surprising. With the darkness and how often that they didn't get to look at themselves, it was quite likely that new changes were bound to go unnoticed for a while. Although with the explanation he wondered if the canine had gone through his own regeneration. "It sounds as if your body re-crystallized you to help your eyes." He felt sorry that his small friend had to go through such pain at a young age but at least he was fine now.

At Kyorai's shivering he lowered his great head down and attempted to brush his muzzle gently against the soft gray fur of canine's body in a comforting gesture. "Steady on, you're fine now and you've grown stronger from it. The past can hurt but it's important to move on from it and grow." Words he hoped would aid the canine, words that he needed to take in consideration himself.

---

408
@Kyorai
My heart hurts writing this post ;.;
6/10

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

wake up from your reverie a light year from reality Gaze drew up quickly when hearing the hesitancy within dragon's words. Thoughts bubbled in worry, but went into immediate distress. A fight they say? That was no good! Despite what would be usual for the pup to do—exclaim and cast his concern—body remained in a state of content, one ear swiveling back from the bits of confusion he had. He would go on to question why a confrontation began in the first place, but sensitivity was predominant in this so, mind stood careful not to make the dragon more down than they probably were—knowing self did not appreciate seeing friend's wallow in something in which bothered them greatly. Instead, he gave the large creature a few pats to assure everything is fine, wagging tail to allow it to be genuine. "It's alright! You're okay now, yes? Not sick in the way you think, nope! For I'm still here to make you think otherwise!" he said in positivity with a small smile. If Baratheon felt such way then perhaps he should stick under them often to ensure they would not catch the thought fully. It was easy to tell the fight was not favorable in regards to their way in telling, but he would not think it was due to an almost deadly match against friends, just a nasty disagreement is what mind conjure up. Ears flatten as the leaf he placed gave way to the ground again. The pup would pick it up and try again a second time, but paused when told the scars would heal over time. Face put on a skeptical look, feeling such would not be the case. However, he went and set the leaf down, humming at the things that could be done. Though mind was stopped in its tracks once told what had happened to have produced these features upon him. Ah, recrystallization! He remembered the dragon explaining that to him, slightly happy he got to experience it himself. It also answered why eyes stood better than they were back then as the process got rid of the issue. Caught up with his thoughts, seeing company come down to comfort pup made him jump but grin after understanding what was happening, returning action by rubbing head onto them. Memory made sure to inscribe their statements well, repeating it to himself. Looking directly up, he pondered. "Hmm. Oh! Have you found where all the prey are?" He asked, blurry memory recalling what their motivation was originally. With that and running off, he could not say if they found them together or not. "Kyo Speaks"

@Baratheon
<3

The dragon nodded his head, mood lifted because of his small friend's genuine kindness. "I'm fine now, yes. That's what matters." And he would make sure that a slip-up did not happen again, he had to. The caves couldn't handle him going off the handle once more as he had done in his youth. He was far larger and far more of a problem than he ever was back then. "Thank-you, Kyorai, I appreciate it." He grinned, honestly pleased to have the small dog in his company.

His mind wandered then as his head lifted up once more after nuzzling his friend. He wondered where he should go to next. His belly was full and he was perfectly content being with his small companion, perhaps they could wander for a bit or maybe he should go for a flight. He used to patrol the territory of Eridanus to make sure nothing went awry but he'd fallen out of the habit recently. Maybe he should start again to make sure--

"Hmm. Oh! Have you found where all the prey are?"

Disturbed from his thoughts he turned back to the small dog with a "hmm?" rumbling from his throat. It took a moment before he remembered that at their last meeting he was on the search for cave deer herds. He'd even gone to Pisces on the off chance that the deer were there but had seen nothing. For a while he'd stayed in Polaris and in his absence a few of the herds had replenished themselves or perhaps come out of hiding while he was gone. "Why, yes. Ironically they all came back here after I made myself scarce for a while." He chuckled. "But I ate a couple of days ago so I don't need to hunt now." Here he glanced down keenly at Kyorai, wondering if the pup had ever even hunted anything large before. He still seemed young but he looked healthy enough...

"I am curious... Have you ever hunted a cave deer before?"

---

336
@Kyorai
---
5/10

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

wake up from your reverie a light year from reality Tail wagged in hearing that the herd had retreated back here, offering a snort when the dragon mentioned absence during herd's comeback. With a large creature lurking about, running for another place to graze within was something he could secretly relate with. An expression of underlying shock morphed onto face, shaking head in disbelief in that friend could go that long without anything. "A couple days ago? That's still a long time! You have to be somewhat hunger," stating such, the pup found himself in needing to eat frequently, though with current diet and size, it was understandable why little form required more. Small fruits were delicious, yes, but surely were not cutting out for one with a lot of growing to do. One ear swiveled back when company questioned if he ever had the chance to go after cave deer. He stared at them for a few moments, checking self out afterwards. There was no way in thinking that he could take down a deer, more so seem threatening to them. The pup was sure he was too small for prey that large, height being close enough to a pineapple. Though that should not be a reason in turning the chance down, especially when he likely had other means in taking one off its hooves. Shaking his head in answering, he looked at the dragon in doubt. "I haven't hunted cave deer nor anything else! Unless berries can be hunted for," he admitted, wishing he had a few berries on hand to share. "I am curious... wouldn't a deer be out of my bounds?" repeating with a different question, he tilted his head in wondering whether they thought otherwise. "Kyo Speaks"

@Baratheon

The dragon laughed, eating every few days was something that was absolutely unknown to the mammal gembounds unless one was a bad hunter. For him though, eating like that was natural and so long as he didn't deprive himself of his release every week. "It's not that long for me. I eat a few cave deer one day and I don't have to hunt again for a few days. It has been that way for a while." He remembered when he was a hatchling and an adolescent he ate a lot more but back then he was growing and needed the nutrients. Now, he'd reached his final size and thus didn't have to eat nearly as much.

Baratheon listened as his tiny friend told him that he had never hunted anything before. Hmm... How had he survived this long then? Fruits? Insects? That was no way to live! The dragon shook his head, no, someone should teach him the basics of hunting so he could actually feed himself. Baratheon would offer to help him catch his first cave deer but he feared what the large creatures might do to him, the risk was far too great with his small charge with him. "A small one, perhaps a fawn, would be easy even for you to take." The deer that roamed around here were quite small and very flighty, at the first hint of danger they would all run even if one of their own was in danger. "However, since you've never hunted before perhaps we should start off small with a rabbit." Something far too small to set him off, hopefully.

The large dragon lowered his head down, fixing him with one large eye and a smile. "How about I give you your first hunting lesson, Kyorai?" He was no canine but he'd seen enough of his smaller friends hunting --and been small himself once-- to know how to take down something in stealth and train another to do it. There would be no chicanery here as he wanted Kyorai to know how to properly care for himself.

---

330+
@Kyorai
---
5/10

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...