Burned and Blackened Blood (G23 & loneiysong)

Nabaz flinched when she accessed her own power, then smiled. He was very impressed with her work, though he did go by her room and check things just to be certain.

In so doing he scared off three fellows who were trying to drill a hole into her wall. They were not her brothers, but they smelled of the seven. He growled, impressed yet further that he magic had prevented the drill from even leaving a mark.

He would compliment her on it in the morning, but for now...

He touched her door and a flowering plant grew out of it, the vines thick about, strengthening the door yet more, with dozens of purple flowers along the door. The scent was fragrant, warm, and soothing.

He nodded, then left via a window for a flight, checking her windows, then flew for a pair of hours, then landed on the citadel's balcony, shifted into human form, then moved into the citadel, took a bed and lay down.

In the middle of the night, she curled up on her bed and fell asleep. The runes on her walls had made the noises outside impenetrable in her room. She slept deep and restful. As she dreamed, a large shadow figure came to her. He taught her how to shift and form fire. It served no real use the figure told her. It was only a dragon parlor trick.

She slept and woke up in the morning. She got up and moved to her balcony and stretched her arms above her head and smiled greeting the day. Sighing she went back and sat on the bed. The dragon had introduced itself as Graggle. She wondered if Ana as new of it. It was hard to ascertain the sex of the dragon. Leaning back she linked with her master.

"Good morning master, where shall I meet you?"

He answered by roaring so loud and so hard that the very palace shook. His voice was from outside her window, where his shadow blocked the whole of the sun from reaching her.

He spoke no words, but Furad grew very excited. "Please let's fly with him little one. Please let's!"

Nabaz trumpeted again and the whole city cheered.

Rowena burst into Tirana's room. "Have you seen it?!"

She rushed to the window and flung it open, to reveal the massive Nabaz flying in circles above the city, while a gentle rain of coins fell onto the city and festival grounds. The people were scooping them up and showing them to each other, and even at such a distance the sound of their glee was infectious and impossible to deny.

Nabaz grinned as he trumpeted again. "A gift from your Princess to one and all!!" The crowd cheered and began to chant 'Tirana! Tirana! Tirana!!"

Rowena stared, then her eyes widened and looked at her granddaughter. "Your master is a genius...he just won you the people...even your brothers aren't foolish enough to attack you in the face of that." She looked up at Nabaz staring at him as he circled, blew flames, trumpeted, and in short made himself very very visible.

She smiled widely feeling her heart race feeling Furad give her permission to fly. She was preparing to go out and fly when her grandmother burst into the room. She smiled at Nabaz's generosity. Without thinking, and fueled by what she didn't know. The same ancient force that over took her and helped her draw the runes, Tirana got up and took off running out onto her balcony.

She kept running feeling the wind and the power rushing through her. She felt her dragon pressing against her skin. Without halting or hesitating, she jumped up on the railing and jumped off into the air and immediately with no harm to herself or her balcony turned into a dragon and began to fly circling around Nabazand trumpeting a greeting to the world and the villagers. She stretched her wings and her limbs and did various acrobatic tricks.

The cheers only grew louder, then they became screams as without warning Nabaz unleashed a blast of flames directly into her face. Then more cheers as they washed over her without harming her, and the black flames unfurled into explosions of purple followed by dozens of other colors.

He winked at her, then began to match her acrobatics, while also showing her ways to do her own without straining her wings or body, and to strengthen both as well. How to tuck her legs and raise her tail to make a flip quicker yet more controlled. How to curve her wings to give her more lift. How to flatten her wings every time so the wind would not control her flight. And more.

And always he chased her, blowing flames and letting them astound those below.

The cheers only grew louder as he did this, then without warning more fireworks began to blast off. They made the two dragon's glow and gleam even brighter, and between them and the sun sparks of every color shone down onto the city, making it glitter like Furad's throne.
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Furad herself was screaming in delight, enjoying everyone moment of it.

Nabaz kept her flying in this way for a full hour, then blew a final flame and flew threw it, and dragged the living flames into letters, etching "NETHIS" In black across the sky. The cheers erupted once more and everyone rushed to the festival again.

Nabaz turned and spoke aloud. "Come little one. You must complete your first hunt. To the forests to the east."

He turned with a simple raise of a wing and the slight arch of his tail, easy and effortless.

She learned and continued to swerve and dip and do acrobatics with him. She roared adn chuckled. She blew her flames playfully along him. She twisted and reveled in hsi flames and then flicked her tail along his and then did circles and loops around his much greater body. She laughed softly hearing Furad in her head. She then chuckled nodding. She then began to follow him. She was now more gliding on the winds like a large kite. She sighed panting a bit as the morning exercise had taken a bit out of her.

Yawning she stretched and flexed her talons and blinked watching him.

He lead her to the forests and landed in a large clearing.

He began to stretch, then rolled up into a ball in the sun sighing happily.

Once done he spoke. "Alright student. Time to truly learn. land and let me see you walk in this form."

His jaw was on his front paws and tail, which was ringed about him several times.

Furad had gone quiet, studying the skies and forests, but now she nudged Tirana gently. "What is he doing?"

She circled like a bird of prey and began to land. She stretched out her limbs and landed lightly on her claws and then looked at him adn raised an eyebrow. She then began to walk around him moving slowly at first then began to walk faster soon getting the rhythm of her body. She then raised an eyebrow at Furad and then turned to Nabaz and raised an eyebrow arch.

"Relaxing in the sun? I don't know." She took him in talking to Furad through their link.

"I meant about watching you walk."

Nabaz answered before Tirana could. "Slow down. You have a tail now. And talons. Speed leaves marks. Until you learn to pass unnoticed anywhere, you must walk slowly. Raise your tail and talons. You cannot leave a sign. Shall i show you how?"

She looked at him and smiled. Looking back she saw the grooves and chuckled. She blushed and looked at him.

"Yes please." She smiled. While she was sure that she could figure out how to walk slower and lift her talons having him near...well she just wouldn't mind it.

he smiled and stood.

Furad was stunned to see that he had not even left a mark on the grass beneath him.

As he stood, his talons and tail raised high and straight for balance. He walked slowly but surely, not leaving a mark, not even bending a blade of grass. "The secret is to not step but simply to move. And roll off the balls of your feet not press or lift."

He showed her what he meant with his own foot, revealing how doing so pressed the blades down but they sprang back up. "I am not putting my weight on my movements. trust in the sky within you. It can help you stay afloat as it were."

She raised an eyebrow and then fluttered her wings in amusement. "Well done master." She smiled and then watched him. She then watched and listened and then looked at her talon then to the grass. She moved her own talon forward and tried it and saw she made no imprint and smoke of happiness curled from her nostrils.

Then rolling her shoulders she raised her tail and walked forward leaving only the barest of marks on the ground where she rolled too much and stumbled a bit but she soon got the hang of it and she walked around him.

He smiled watching her. "Dragons are children of the Sun. We are meant to support and protect the world around us."

He puffed some flame at her, the flame not affecting the grass at all. With it came the image of a large elk. "Your task is to find and kill this elk. Do you have any issues with that Tirana?"

Furad actually pulled free of her into her spirit form.

Nabaz smirked. "This one you do all on your own."

She shook her head and took in the form and then looked at him.

"And when I do kill that cousin of the earth do you want me to bring the body to let you inspect it?"" she looked at the elk taking in its form and raised an eyebrow.

He nodded. "He was chosen because he has a heart issue already. His time would come quickly whether you were involved or not. Not all Dragons make such decisions. But I don't like killing without cause. But you need to do this."

He blew some flame over her and smiled. "You will see why. Go Tirana." His voice rumbled with a kind timbre.

She turned and then began to walk through the woods. Something came over her again. Maybe it was her ancient spirit in teh dragon. She wasn't sure, but she ran her nostrils along the floor of the forest. She smelled the forest. The beautiful fragrance of the forest. But she smelt the elk. Images of elks some does, some elk, flashed in her mind like images. Then the elk she wanted. Hunching down, her brain focused on the elk and she began to stalk slowly and silently through the woods until the scent ended and she looked up. There he was.

She took a moment to take in the beauty of him. She could hear the labor of his heart. As if she was looking into his heart, she could see one of the leaky valves. He would die before the festival came. He would not even make it to breed with another doe. She hunched down feeling the power through her body. Without thinking about it, she shot through the brush like a cat and bit into the neck of the elk without smelling fear or hearing a cry. He didn't realize anything was happening, she had shot an image of a beautiful field and a beautiful doe to him as she bit hard into his neck and killed him instantly.

Pulling back, she tasted the beautiful floral taste of the blood on her tongue. Smiling, she ran her hand over his now lifeless head and rested her head against his. "I take you within my body brother, so you might live through me. Thank you for giving your life for mine. I honor you." She sighed and picked him up and flew back to where Nabaz was.

Nabaz smiled at her kill, and took a short nap until she returned.

When she had done, he sniffed her kill and nodded. "Eat. All of it. You need the proteins."

There was also the fact that the elk would not even make a snack for him, despite it's impressive size.

"A fine kill. Well done. And with honor. you did not make him suffer. I am proud of you Tirana. While you eat...." he began to tell her of the creation myths of the other races. Where each of them claimed to come first. After Dragons. Everyone admitted that Dragons were the oldest. The humans discussed being born of clay. Elves claimed to be made my clouds blowing through the trees. Orcs said they were spirits of the earth given mortal souls. Dwarves claimed to be living rocks. And on and on and on.

But Dragons knew.

"We are living fire. Born from the first jets of heat from the sun. Appointed as guardians of the sky and earth. Crafted by the will of Magic itself to be living, breathing forms of it's will. Which is why we possess so much of it. The first of us flew forth from the sun full grown, and imbued with the wisdom of the cosmos, so we might do what we could to protect the younger races. They were created by gods and goddesses. Beings of incredible power. And yes it is also true that Dragons fought the gods. Many times they sought to control or dominate their creations, by any means. It was, and remains our place to prevent such things. Freedom is the right of all. And nothing represents that more powerfully than a Dragon."

She ate all of the elk and then stretched out when nothing of the animal was left. She licked her chops and stretched on her side and began to sun herself listening to him. She raised an eyebrow watching him. She smiled and nodded listening and then rested her hand on her head propping it up. The sun felt good on her and her scales. She thought back to the dream and the shifting of fire. The shadowed dragon. She smiled and then looked at him.

He looked back smiling, winking at her. "And now little one. We have a nap."

He closed his eyes, sighing happily as he fell deep into a nap.

Furad poked Tirana. "He's kinda weird." She nuzzled her god-daughter, then lay against her. "Time to rest little one."

"What do you mean". She asked to curse as Tirana laid down and shut her eyes enjoying the sun and resting shielding her face with her wing. "He is not weird. He is very enjoyable." She thought of a large cat that was capable of speech and human form.

"I expected him to have more lessons to teach. And he fell asleep so fast. i just find it funny." Furad snuggled into the younger Dragon.

She studied him as he suddenly stood encircling her, then settled, going back to sleep. Furad snickered, then purred as his darkness made the warmth washing off his scales pour over her.

She nuzzled into the spirit of the dragon and smiled and then looked up as he curled around her. She reached out and gently dragged her claws over his scales and then up. She was not aware that her talons were moving in a gentle social message and she moved closer to his warmth in a friendly way that they would do if they were in a large dignity. She sighed and slowly dozed as her movements became slower and slower and she fell asleep.

He woke her by nipping her shoulder some while later. "Time to begin your flame training."

He had jammed a log into the ground, along with three metal spikes with logs jammed over the three. "First I need to measure the length of your flames. How long can you maintain a continious flame?"

He chuckled laying his head on his crossed paws watching her. Furad nuzzled her girl, then drew back to watch as well.

"I don't know I just turned dragon yesterday." She laughed and rubbed her nose and got up stretching and then shifted. She then took in a deep breath and felt the air fill her deeply. She let it slowly and then took in another breath this one much deeper and then blew out a long thin continuous flame that shot out quite an impressive distance. The flame lasted about four minutes before she had to stop coughing and blushed.

"Sorry." She sat and coughed rubbing her smoking mouth and nostrils.

"Four minutes. Very impressive for your first full use of fire. Now we are going to have to work on it. First you need a more relaxed stance. And don't push yourself that hard...Here."

He blew a long blast of flame, then let it narrow, then suddenly burst into a large rolling wall of fire. He followed this with a line of succeeding walls, balls, and other forms. Each one contained a nucleus of brighter or darker flame which would explode or engulf the targets.

He cut off the fire and sighed happily. "The trick is to strengthen even your flames. You do so by letting it roll along your tongue against your fangs before you let it go. Kindle of like whistling. can you whistle?"