DESERT ROSE THIRTY-FIVE
how quickly the hawk becomes a dove
when faced with the barrel of a gun

Desert had wandered- wandered far, not caring where his feet carried him. He just knew he had to move. A drive pushed him to wander, flowering clusters lodged in his hair and in the crown of antlers atop his head. His best carrying location, perhaps, were his wings- for his span was large, and he could easily hold the limbs at a fold that hauled his beauties with him at every step.

What he wouldn't give to rest in his chrysalis for one more day. It seemed rest could never be enough. He had to move in stages, the flex of his muscles exhausting him to the point of full slumber by the time he'd taken not five steps. Not even hunger touched him. His only desire was slumber and rest as his body thinned, losing whatever weight it had before.

And he soon got it, time after time again. Resting against a pillar of smooth stone, the long creature curled with his nose against the grey objects. It sparked unknowable memories in him to be on the raised platform. He... Knew this place, and yet it was wholly unfamiliar to him.

Though, the place he awoke to held the feeling even more. Flowers- flowers everywhere, red, blue, matched with a vibrant green. Were these his flowers? Slowly, he felt his toes spread into the soft blades of grass and stems of flowers. Eyes closed, he held his head high, inhaling their scent. Enchantment washed over the dragon. He was safe. His new life was ready to begin.

Yet, his eyebrows lowered in uncertainty. An underlying worry wormed beneath the illusion of peace. His home- tainted. It was perfect, yet too perfect.

Warily, his bleak eyes opened to find his head held high, body refreshed from the dream. He was as refreshed as he could be in this state, at least. He must have moved in his sleep, for as he glanced about he could see clusters near and far, some skittered off the platform Desert was atop.

The platform. Where were the flowers he'd seen? Where was he? Those colors, the scent... It crawled at his mind, haunting his memories. It was so fresh, so clear. It felt more like a vision than dream. Had he ever dreamed before? Perhaps, in the chrysalis, and yet he couldn't remember. No.. He couldn't remember anything. Why should he? He had no reason to- he just had to sleep, had to protect his own field of flowers. A great yawn- a roar, perhaps, to those who were unaware of the dragon- echoed through the cave as his purplish tongue reached out and lips pulled wide. Tired... So tired...

The dragon lowered his head to the platform. And yet, he couldn't sleep. It was like he'd overslept, his senses muddled by the somber rest. His eyes refused to shut, his limbs curled underneath himself as he glanced at the cave around him, to his clusters by his body. To him, they each carried the colors he'd seen in the memory. Each was individualistic. Each was gorgeous.

Finding himself alone, he hummed through his teeth. His voice wasn't one of his own- he'd never heard himself sing, wordlessly and softly. A keening reverberated through him, eyes closed as he reminisced over the memory he'd (assumingly) regained. Despite the worry he'd felt in it, it was his memory, undeniably, and much better than the unpleasant tingling of Hydra that took control of his body each time he threatened to give mind to the memories of pain and fear.

Since discovering that the world was bigger then a small room full of bones, the demon hadn't stopped moving. He had just kept wandering and wandering, occasionally stopping to hunt rats, which didn't seem to be as common in these parts of the caves, sometimes stopping to take a long nap, or just pausing his journey to look at something interesting. Why hadn't he found this world before? There was so much to see and to do, so many new foods to eat, not that he dared hunt anything but rats. After all, he didn't know if they could think.

Still, he couldn't help but wonder.

The initial shock had worn off, which meant that it was time to move on. The first tunnel he'd wandered across, leading out of the giant room with lights on the ceiling, was the one he chose to follow. It was a lot colder then the previous cave, but he barely noticed the freezing air through his thick coat of dark fur. Besides, he was too interested to just turn around because of a little chill. He found himself climbing through the difficult terrain with ease, his many limbs and his wings providing him the support needed to navigate his way through. He only paused when a sound touched his ear. A humming noise that he'd never heard before. Was someone ahead?

Darkness began to fall over him, the shadows around him expanding, dimming the glow in his chest and letting his already dark body blend into the background. It wasn't really intentional, but his slower, cautious movements instinctively brought the magic up - perhaps there was food ahead to hunt.

But the creature that came into view didn't look like a rat. In fact, it didn't look like anything he'd seen before. If anything, it looked like the four-limbs-two-wings, just less colorful and shaped a little differently. Why was i sitting like that by those weird pillars? Curiously, he breathed in, nostrils flaring. There was some kind of sweet scent wafting from those jewels. And another one, like rot. A strange combination, sure, but he could get behind it.

He approached, slowly, still shrouded in shadow, bright eyes glancing around. He didn't speak, for now, stopping some feet away and crouching down, just a silhouette within darkness. He observed the creature for a moment, wondering if it could speak or if it was as dumb as a rat. Wondering if it was edible.

@Desert Rose Thirty-Five

DESERT ROSE THIRTY-FIVE
how quickly the hawk becomes a dove
when faced with the barrel of a gun

The hums from Desert slowed as he found rest again. His tail curled about his body and flowers, and he looked to the few who scattered out of reach. Ah, well- they were fine for the time being. He could worry about the later.

For now, he brought his snout closer to a larger cluster by his feet, gingerly rolling it forward and taking it in both claws. He felt along its surface, rolling it this way and that on the smooth rock below him. Perhaps, he felt, he should have investigated his resting place more, yet he didn't feel the need to. His usual guarded borders had fallen away as of late.

Time would tell if that was for the better.

However, a weight hung in the back of his mind. Was it the feeling of his memories being scoured? Was someone there? Carefully and methodologically, Desert rose his head high, a sweeping gaze cast about the room. He landed on the surrounding darkness for a mere moment.

No, he must have been daydreaming. A shrug rolled the wings across his back as he returned to drawing his claw against the cluster.

@Azrael

He froze when it looked up, its bright eyes staring right at the place where he was crouching. Was it weird to be just standing here and not talking? He wasn't really sure. He didn't often just strike up conversation. He just wanted to know if he could eat it or not. His stomach shivered at the thought. He hadn't eaten any rats for a while. It might be a little more of a wait.

But then...it just looked away, returning its attentions to the things at its feet. What? Did it not care? Was it blind? He raised a hand and tilted it back, the eye in the palm opening to look at himself and...he saw the problem. He'd made himself a shadow again. Oops.

He returned his hand to his side, unsure of how to approach this now. He didn't think it was prey - it was scuffing around at the weird flowering things and it had been humming before. Rats did neither of those things. But if he just stepped out of the shadows now, it would look like he'd been hunting. And he wasn't allowed to do that on things that could think.

He could just continue to stand here, couldn't he? Until it did something else? No, it could be a while and then it would look even worse when it eventually found him. He could just leave, too. No, he didn't want to leave. He wanted to know what that smell was, at the very least.

So, he did the only thing he could really think of. He cleared his throat, a deep rumbling cough coming from what was seemingly darkness, and then stepped right out, bringing himself almost right next to the sandy-colored dragon. "S-sorry," he murmured, cheeks growing a little hot. "Didn't mean to hide."

@Desert Rose Thirty-Five

DESERT ROSE THIRTY-FIVE
how quickly the hawk becomes a dove
when faced with the barrel of a gun

Desert startled for a moment at the noise. Was someone by him? He hadn't been the most attentive lately, but he felt his old self returning as he tensed up, wings drawing close as he glanced about for the origin. There. Intelligent eyes locked onto the moving shadow, fear heightening his senses. Was Vargas here? Was he about to be destroyed? His long neck raised as he stared, wide-eyed as a dark creature emerged.

He sighed audibly when it wasn't his Overseer. They were closer than expected- Desert eyed the scattered flowers about the room. Had they taken one? Nevertheless, he found his tensed muscles relaxing as he nearly forgot why he was so worried. His head tipped in greeting, eyes closed in a warm gesture. "You're fine, my friend. Just startled me," he explained raising his crown back up to look over the other creature. Strong, tall- perhaps built for battle. His tail thumped against the ground as he tilted his head. "Who do I have the pleasure of meeting?" Now that he'd relaxed, he'd had some time to formulate his thoughts in a less crude manner. A smile graced his lips as he dipped his head. "I apologize if I disturbed you." This place may have belonged to them- or he may have intruded on something long ago. No matter.

@Azrael

He tensed as well when the sandy creature moved, wondering if he'd startled it too bad. His chest glowed stronger for a moment as his heart began to race. He didn't really want to fight it. Or kill it. Or really hurt it at all. But the moment passed quite quickly and he relaxed too, the glow fading back to its normal levels. The dragon's words, however, immediately confused him. "Friend?" he parroted, the unfamiliar word sticking to his tongue. Dip had said the word before, but from what he understood, friends were not just people you met. One of his arms came up an scratched as his growing goatee. "Did not know we friends. Thank you." It wasn't a bad thing, of course - he was thrilled, really, to have a new friend. Just a little confused on how it had happened.

He opened his four arms, gesturing to himself. "Just me," he responded, unaware that the other was asking for the name he hadn't yet give himself. As far as he was concerned, he was a predator and a creature and his unique appearance was enough of an indicator to who he was. He knew that many preferred to give themselves titles in which to refer to themselves, but he hadn't yet thought that he should give one to himself as well.

"Disturbed? No," he snorted. "I smell funny thing and come see. Smells like bone room but newer. Lost," he added as he glanced around. He hadn't been here before - he knew what lay behind but ahead? No clue. He wondered if he could find his way back to the bones if he turned around right now. Probably not.

@Desert Rose Thirty-Five