((Backdated to between meeting Pride and going to fight Ursa))

Comet

Arctic Wolf

Comet followed James, paws clicking against the stone floor of Monoceros. They had finished their meeting with Pride, and decided to do some adventuring. This was the first time she had ever been in Monoceros, or anywhere in the South-West quadrant other than Orion. Apparently this quadrant tended to be a bit more-- dangerous.

She stuck close to James, for her safety and his. If any danger came to pass, she would be the first to confront it. Comet found it quite enjoyable adventuring with the horse. He was a bit more carefree with his explorations, and his wings could take him high up! She hoped to have many more adventures like this with him, since he was very fun to be around. Maybe someday they could adventure forever! Going back to Aristotle and Sun to visit sometimes, but mostly drifting around from cave to cave. A life of exploration and adventure!

The wind blew hard, like it was trying to tug her off her feet. Comet folded her ears and kept going. Every cave had something cool in it, and she was determined to find out what was special in this one.

@James

James followed Comet dutifully, his head low to keep it level with her's, wanting to ensure that she both felt protected but accompanied at the same time. And he didn't want to push any sort of leadership dynamics out here. They were partners unless something truly weird happened, and then he was if absolutely necessary.

"Don't get blown away now," James joked softly, a smile on his face.

Just being out here gave him breath in his lungs, and made him feel... free. He spread his wings for a moment to catch the air, feeling it through his feathers and fur, before snapping them shut before a gust nearly threw him backwards. He giggled softly and shook his mane out.

"I hear there are dragons here," he said, "I wonder if we'll meet one. I don't know where they live aside from 'in this cave'."

@Comet (I'll post Carja next round uwu)

"I won't." Comet had a feeling that if anyone were to blow away, it would be James. She has small and low so that most of the wind was not strong enough to blow her off her feet. Sure enough, a few moments later the horse almost got blown away.

"Dragons?" She couldn't remember if she had seen a dragon before. Either way she formed a mental picture in her head of what she thought it might look like, and it was scary. But Comet still wanted to see one. Perhaps they were nice? "Are they dangerous?"

@James

James inhaled and hummed softly, considering the question.

"Some can be, unless we intrude upon their nest. I know of a dragon who's very kind. She was at the olympics, though I don't think you'd been hatched yet. I believe she's blue and grey?", he said, before trotting forward a bit more, "Her name's slipped my mind, I'm afraid."

The stallion shook his head out and stretched his wings, catching a breeze and gently floating over the ground, rainbow wings spread and easily cupping the wind. A gust blew him down, forcing him to land harder than he'd like. He wasn't an expert at flying, quite yet.

The flap of leathery wings gave the two way down a hint of the dragon's appearance.

With a roar, she swooped down, like a streak overhead as she circled, her powerful wings beating and tossing up sand and grit from the ground. And she was big, and long, though not very bulky. She was sleek, with long legs and a long neck and tail, with a slim waist and a thick, barrel chest. She snorted and stepped forward, her six eyes alight, and glowing blue.

"Hiya!!", she chirped, folding up her wings into her sides, her bulk sheltering the two from the gusting winds, "Who are you? I'm Carja!"

@Comet

Comet hoped that they would meet the kind dragon. She knew that appearances did not affect how someone acted. This was from her personal experience, as whenever she went out exploring, many animals were afraid of her because she was a wolf. It must be the same things with dragons too.

Her keen ear picked up the sound of flapping wings. It sounded very familiar to the sound of James's wings, but louder, stronger, and more controlled. And if the horse wasn't using his wings right now... Comet looked up. "Dragon!" She crouched down onto the ground as the wind from the powerful wings almost blew her away.

The pup started to panic this was a huge dragon! Was it going to eat them? It was even bigger than Pride, and that was really something. Do something, do something! Comet gathered up the energy in her chest, and aimed the jet of water straight at their face. Whoops, she must've reacted to soon, because right as she released the jet of water the dragon chirped a greeting. Too late.

@James

James tensed at the flapping wings and whirled around, prey instincts screaming at him to run, but his parental instincts screaming louder, insisting he protect his young. He darted in front of Comet and reared, wings flaring before he suddenly recognized the name.

"Comet! This was who I was talking about!", he exclaimed, front hooves landing as he pulled in his wings halfway.

He looked up at Carja warily and waited, hoping she didn't react to Comet blasting water in her face. He didn't even know what magic she had, for she competed in wrestling and aside from that, he hadn't ever encountered her before.

"I apologize on behalf of Comet," he said, "It was reflex, you see."

Carja's eyes clenched as the water doused her face and dripped down her neck, blinking stupidly in shock. She shook her head out and looked down at the two, before a delighted grin spread across her face.

"Oh my gosh!! You can control water and ice too!", she gasped, wings flaring out.

The water that Comet had summoned flared out in waves of ice in a semi-circle around them, curling at the tips rather than forming sharp points. It provided shelter from the wind, at least.

"I'm so sorry I scared you- I saw you from above and wondered if you were lost because not a lot of people come out here," she explained, and fluffed her wings up before sitting down.

"It's nice to meet you, Comet and... um... I don't know your name," she said to James, apologetic.

@Comet

Comet froze as the jet of water hit its mark, dousing the dragon's face. Ah, so this was who James was talking about. It was a good thing that James apologized for her, she was too scared at the moment to say anything. She hoped that the dragon would not be angry at her. But instead of frowning, they smiled. Oh, it looked like they were very tolerant of such things.

Then Carja said the very thing that Comet was thinking. "You have water magic too? She watched the water freeze into a semi circle around them, glaciate. One of the spells that she had been trying to learn. This was... amazing! Another animal with water magic? The only one she knew other than herself? Many things were already racing through her mind at what they could do together.

"Oh, um, it's fine." Comet fluffed up her fur to make herself appear a bit bigger. Not that she was still scared of course, the wind was getting a bit too cold for her liking. "Nice to meet you too." The pup had been practicing her manners lately.

@James

James blinked up at the dragon and then at his daughter, before simply sighing. Of course Comet would somehow make friends with a dragon.

"Ah, I'm James," he said, "It's nice to meet you, Carja. I saw you at the Olympics, and you won both of your matches, correct?"

He looked at Comet and then at Carja, and gently rubbed Comet's back, "Don't be afraid. I'll protect you. Even so, all the rumors state that she's a delight, apparently."

The stallion swished his tail and pulled his wings in, relaxing them against his body. This was nice.