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(Lunetta & Rook10) Of Scales and Gold

Genevieve felt some kind of panic. Great, she lost a recently released dragon, in human form, and he's wandering somewhere, perhaps somewhere outside of the shopping complex. She shook her head, she needs some way to communicate with him, she doubted he would be keen on trying out a cellphone... That's gonna be a whole other issue... First she had to find the man, or rather dragon, under her care. Chewing at her bottom lip, she scoured through window shops, nothing. "Great," she mumbled, shaking her head with a fierce sigh before she leaned against a pillar, arms crossed.

It was by a stroke of luck that she saw Vinithrax walk through the main entrance. She frowned, walking right for him. "What in the world was that all about?" she practically demanded, her voice slightly shaky. She was actually worried about losing him, how bizarre. "Come on, we have to finish up and head out," Genevieve mentioned, grabbing his arm and guiding him back to the store they had been at. Collecting the pair of shoes that suited him, she paid for them. It had crossed her mind that maybe he found playing in this whole human form simply wasn't for him...


It was a miracle that she didn't see anyone she recognized, she usually did. It made it easier if she didn't have to explain who he was. Vinithrax did receive some looks, they were subtle, but she couldn't blame them, he was very good looking. "Alright, I think we are done here," Genevieve mentioned before making her way with him back to the car, depositing the bags in the trunk.
 
Vinithrax didn't answer her. His head remained low and his brow furrowed. Thankfully she didn't press the issue, seemingly ready to move on a get out of the mall for good. He was like minded and obediently followed her back to the shoe store and then out to the parking lot. As the climbed into the car he could feel that, while different from before, there was tension in the air again and Genevieve did deserve some sort of explanation.

"He was a Goblin. That man I chased after was Goblin and they are known for being greedy and thieving. I figured that if anyone knew where my treasure was then it was probably him. He said that he didn't but that he was going to ask around and then find me later on." He didn't mention the bit about dragons mysteriously vanishing. That wasn't any of her business anyways. He continued staring out the window, trying to pull it all together in his head, only remembering to put his seat belt on as they began to pull out onto the main road. How could dragons just disappear? They may not have been as numerous as many of the other magical beings but they were nothing if not resilient. The image of the bomb flashed in his mind and Vinithrax wondered for a moment if humanity, in all it's new found power, had decided to rid the world of the beings who had at one time ruled it.
 
Genevieve buckled herself in before driving off once they both settled in. She kept her hands firmly gripped on the wheel, catching a glimpse of Vinithrax out of the corner of his eye, wondering what was running through his mind. Was he going crazy? Is this world too much for him to handle at once? Maybe letting him take it easy for a few days, wrap his head around things, would be helpful to him....

It was a relief he finally spoke, and she appreciated him explaining what happened. "Goblin?" she repeated, no longer having that tone of incredulousness like she did earlier. What else existed? How come she's never seen these creatures? Could they hide as humans? It nerved her to think that people walking around could be far different from what they actually are. "Next thing you're going to tell me is that there are witches, trolls, and little elves that live in shoes..." Her voice trailed off, before she exhaled a soft sigh, "Sorry. It's just... it makes me question a lot of things, I feel like I've been under a rock this whole time. Let's hope he hears something, if anyone were to have an idea about your treasure it'd be him." She tried to be optimistic about it.

They arrived back at her apartment, only to find her roommate arrived from work. The dirty blonde hair was in a messy bun, a loose t-shirt adorned her torso, with a pair of cutoff shorts and black boots. She was scarfing down a bowl of cereal, watching TV from the couch. It was already dark outside, about the time she normally got home.

"Hey Gen! Hey... uhm..."

"Hey Lily. This is a friend of mine, Vini!" Genevieve introduced, gesturing towards the stranger that Lily swore just followed her roommate in.

Lily offered a wave, "Nice to meet you, Vini."

"He's a good friend that surprised visited me," the brunette explained, patting the tall male beside her on the arm. "He'll be hanging around for a bit... I hope you don't mind."

"Oh... not at all," she offered a sultry smile, locking her eyes with the handsome guy before her.
 
Vinithrax decided it was probably best not to try and give Genevieve a enlightening lesson on all the potential creatures that she could easily be interacting with every day and not know it. The rest of the drive was quiet as he continued to mull over the Goblin's words. He carried the bags up the stairs and to Genevieve's apartment, still somewhat absent until his nostrils twitched a bit and a new smell became obvious to him. Not of another magical being though, instead of her roommate. It was a distinctly...different scent than Genevieve's.

He peeked around Genevieve as the door opened and they stepped inside, eyeing the girl on the comfortable couch, shoveling little pieces of food into her mouth from a bowl and showing quite a lot of leg for some reason. He shot Genevieve a bit of a look as she introduced him as 'Vini' again but supposed that was all part of the plan to stay incognito. That of course meant that he had to play the part as well and while Lily's smile made him just a bit uncomfortable as well as her obvious eye contact he greeted her appropriately.

He set the bags on the floor and stepped forward, making a bit of a bow with one arm tucked across his chest. "A pleasure to meet you, fair Lily. Friend of Genevieve." He then stood up straight again and turned to Genevieve. "Where should I put the bags?" It pained him dearly to put on this show and act so....human. But there were few things a dragon wouldn't do for his treasure.
 
Genevieve noted the look Vinithrax gave him, hiding a bit of a smirk. She knew he would need getting used to the dynamic of the world around him. Lily glanced over at her roommate, arching a slender brow as she smirked at him. "So polite!" she almost gushed before she leaned back against the couch, fixing her gaze on the television to leave the two alone.

"Oh," Genevieve managed out before she turned and motioned him to follow. "You could leave them in my room... we don't have a spare bedroom." She led him into her room, switching on the overhead lights to illuminate the room. The brunette undid the hair tie in her hair, moving through her drawers to grab a pair of pajama pants and a tank top to change into. "Rest room is across from my room, you're more than welcome to shower and wash up if you want. Oh, and you can leave the bags there," she pointed at a empty corner in her room.

She sat on her bed, flipping open her laptop and powering it on, wanting to keep herself occupied if Vinithrax decided to utilize the restroom in the meantime. If he decided to use the bathroom to wash up, she would follow him just to show how everything worked.
 
Vinithrax placed the bags in the corner as instructed and then peered into the rest room, eyeing the shiny knobs and spouts with mixed interest and caution. Modern plumbing was far and above the ancient aqueducts he had seen in his time. He nudged one of the knobs at the sink and was surprised at the volume and pressure with which the water poured from the faucet. Truly mankind had gone to great lengths to make survival an almost automatic function instead of an every day struggle. Food was readily attainable, transport was much faster, water was just a twist of your hand away. What could they possibly be doing with all their extra time. He thought before remembering the mushroom cloud he had seen on TV and then how much effort was put into selling and buying things at the mall. It made sense. A race no longer burdened by the need to produce naturally was driven to consume, and with that hunger came greed followed by violence.

How long will that last? He wondered to himself as he returned the knob to it's original position and the water ceased to flow. Genevieve gave him a quick run down of the shower, simple enough though the idea of hot water in the absence of the thermal spring seemed a bit far fetched. He removed his shirt first, not remembering to close door until after, if either girl happened to glance toward the rest room they'd have a pretty open view of his chest, not that Genevieve hadn't already seen it before.

Once alone behind the closed door he finished undressing and fiddled with the knobs in the shower. Again he was surprised at the volume and pressure of the water and also how it changed from the bottom faucet to the shower head, coming in individual streams instead of one solid flow. He stepped beneath the spray, yelping loudly at the sudden cold before turning the other knob and relaxing at the immediate heat of the water. Genevieve hadn't been lying, the water was indeed hot. So hot in fact that even Vinithrax had to fiddle again with the knobs to find a balance lest his human body start to burn a bit. His shower did not last long though, while it was relaxing he didn't care much for the constant pour on his head and so with minimal difficulty he turned the water off and stepped out, shaking himself a bit before putting his same clothes back on, his hair still wet and matted against his skull. Overall he was still dripping wet but he had little idea about towels and such as he had previously been too preoccupied with the leather couch to notice Genevieve using one earlier.

"Quite a bit of work your kind made there." He commented to Genevieve before realizing his slip in front of Lily. He had to stop thinking in terms of 'their kind' and start thinking in terms of 'his kind'.
 
Genevieve tried doing a bit of research on the world wide web regarding his kind... if there was anything she could find. There were dragon myths and legends, but nothing concrete that could potentially bring her to a lead on who may have Vinithrax's hoard of treasure. She chewed her bottom lip as she scrolled through countless pages, occasionally clicking a link that piqued her interest. Nothing. Who knows how long his prized possessions have been gone... There's no timeframe of when it was taken, who knows if there is anything left. This only mad her sigh a bit in frustration. "It's only the first day," she told herself, shaking her head a bit as she lounged on her side.

Lily had meandered her way down the hall to ask Genevieve something, having caught a glimpse of Vinithrax in the process. Her eyes remained glued onto him before he finally closed the door, averting her attention to him. "Your new friend seems nice," she mentioned to Gen, cradling a glass of juice in hand.

"Yeah, he is. Not from around here but he's learning the ins and outs." Gen began to wonder if making up a story that he's an exchange student would even pass...

"Is he single?"

Genevieve blushed, laughing a bit, "I think so..."

The blonde seemed to ponder this, shifting her weight on the other leg, "That's good to know. I'll be in my room," she mentioned with a smile, "Sleep well, Gen."

"Night," Genevieve called, just as Vinithrax walked into her room, his clothes soaked through after his shower. She couldn't help but chuckle a bit to herself. "I had left you a towel..." she brunette mentioned, getting up to make her way past him towards the bathroom, unfolding the towel in the process. Lily had been within earshot, puzzled by his words but didn't think anything of it as she closed the door to her bedroom.

"It's convenient I'll admit," she added. "Here, take off your shirt." Genevieve said this as she worked on drying his hair, "You normally do this the moment you step out of the shower."
 
Vinithrax shook his head and recoiled a bit from Genevieve. "I'm not a boy I can damn well do it myself." He spat, more annoyed than angry at how she had so casually covered his head. He took the towel from her and finished rubbing his head before tugging the damp shirt off himself, admittedly with some difficulty as the wet cloth clung to his skin still, and began padding his bare chest with the rather coarse blanket. It reminded him somewhat of burlap but softer and less itchy.

He gave Genevieve a sideways look. "Well you don't have to stand there and watch me like I'm going to mess it up." He grumbled, internally aggravated at himself for all the simple things in this world he had still yet to grasp. It was humbling and dragons, by nature, were not humble beings. Yet perhaps it was good for Vinithrax to be humbled, the world had changed much and it would require a different approach if he wished to be a part of it once more.
 
Genevieve stifled a chuckle at his outburst. "Okay okay," she chided, handing off the towel to him. Having him call her out on her watching caused her to blush a bit. "Yeah, right," she mumbled before she turned and sat back down on her bed, typing away at her laptop. She tried to keep her eyes focused on the computer screen, but she couldn't help but let them stray.

"Oh, I have a blow up mattress. I'd suggest the living room couch but there's really no privacy and it's probably too short for you." Immediately, she got up, fetching a box from the upper shelf of her closet and removing its contents. It was a full sized blow up mattress. She turned on the device, which immediately began to inflate, while it did that, she pulled out a sheet and blanket it, covering the mattress once it was done inflating before she placed the pillows on.

Genevieve grabbed a pair cotton shorts and a t-shirt to change into, doing so in the bathroom and getting ready for bed.
 
Vinithrax watched as she fiddled with the contraption, surprised at the amount of noise the mini vacuum made and how quickly the rubber began to inflate. Kind of like a water skin being filled but instead of water it was air. While she went to the bathroom to change he pressed down on the mattress experimentally. It was firm but still had some give to it. He didn't really need the blankets but figured it was another decency thing that humans obsessed over. He climbed into the bed, fulling the blanket over his lap, his balance uneasy as he settled his weight onto the hollow mattress. "Thank-you" he offered up when Genevieve came back in and shut off the lights.

It took a moment longer for Vinithrax's eyes to adjust than it would have for his natural state but once they did he could see almost as clearly as before. He laid down and closed his eyes, trying to will his thoughts to rest. He rested on his back for a moment then turned to his side, the blanket rustling. Then he turned to his other side, the blanket rustling again. Then on his back again and then his side. All the while the rustling of his shifting weight filling the darkness of the room. For the first time in so long he was sleeping somewhere other than his cave and if he was perfectly honest, it was strange. He had grown so accustomed to his hard stone floor and the dampness of the cavern air that now in this dry, warm, soft space he just felt very much out of place.
 
Genevieve walked back into the room, changed into a comfortable pair of pajamas. She left her hair loose typically when she slept, and ran a comb through it as she shut off the lights and made her way over to her bed, sitting down before she placed the comb aside. "Oh, no problem, " she mentioned with a pleasant mirth before she moved the sheets aside of it. She laid down quietly, sighing before she closed her eyes, settling as she tried to fall asleep. Yet, sleep alluded her. Normally Genevieve was a decent sleeper, not light so the slightest noise didn't wake her, but hearing Vinithrax shifting back and forth drew her attention.

The young woman was laying in her side, facing towards him. Her eyes adjusted in the dark, saw the outline of his silhouette. Her lips parted, hesitating before she spoke. "Vinithrax... are you okay?" She asked, sounding concerned. She realized his thoughts were swimming with the overwhelming change he was experience, she felt sorry for him, realizing the abrupt change in his life was dofficult.
 
Vinithrax was experimenting with positioning his legs differently when he heard Genevieve speak. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" He sounded a bit more like he was trying to convince himself rather than her. "Just thinking about that Goblin from earlier. How he better not try to trick me or he'll be sorry." Again with the tough guy routine, for all of the differences between humans and dragons they acted remarkably alike. Especially when it came to matters of pride.

Besides, Vinithrax wasn't about to start confiding in a human! What would she know? How could she understand the drastic change of the world around him? The discomfort of a body not his own. The humbling unfamiliarity that struck him every time her turned around and saw something new. She couldn't! Indeed there were few beings that could and probably even fewer still if what that goblin had said held any sort of weight. The silence persisted as Vinithrax had stopped moving though he could still feel Genevieve's questioning stare through the darkness. "I'm fine. Really. Just not used to sleeping like this is all." He turned away from her and pulled the blanket tighter around himself. Not unlike he would do with his own wings on his natural form and he found the similarity comforting as he did his best to imitate sleep and eventually found it.
 
Genevieve wasn't surprised at the somewhat hostile response, she didn't take it personally, she figured it was just as much of apart of him as his treasure was. She shrugged a bit, turning to lay on her back, her bed creaking a bit as she did. "I'm just asking..." It came of no surprise that sleeping in his human form felt exceptionally different from what he was used to, she could only imagine what it felt. "Alright, well, good night," she bade, closing her eyes again. It took several minutes, before sleep finally claimed her and she fell into a deep, undisturbed slumber.

While school was done for the semester, she still was working part time and needed to in the morming. The alarm clock sounded in the morning, her hand smacked it off before she groaned sleepily. While she had gotten enough sleep, waking up in the morning when she wanted to sleep in was rough. Genevieve yawned, eyes blurred and groggy as she stood up, the room still dark from the pulled down shades that she momentarily forgot of her visitor and the inflated mattress in the middle of the floor that she tripped, letting out a gasp, only to fall directly onto Vinithrax without grace. "God, I'm so sorry," she mumbled, quickly moving to detailed herself from him.
 
The harsh beeping sound jerked Vinithrax awake just before the stumble and shriek of Genevieve tripping and falling on top of him cemented him in that harsh reality. Fortunately for everyone he remembered where he was and why he was there before instinct caused an accident that wouldn't so easily be fixed. Of all the things that had changed in the past few hundred years he imagine humans still did not favor their buildings being set ablaze.

Still the tangle of limbs and blankets that was the two of them on the floor was quite awkward. Genevieve was quite soft and light, Vinithrax observed while trying to sit himself upright and dislodge himself from her all at once. "I think I prefer roosters." He rubbed his head as he winched and looked over at the alarm clock or at least in its direction. He wasn't sure where the sound had come from. "You haven't got a farm and you don't hunt." He yawned. "Why are you awake this early?"
 
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