darkSpyro

Kira gave a little chucke when she noticed that Marco was being ignored. She once again urged him to find the exit to that place and find a way to return home. She wasn't the social type, and the last thing she wanted was to get close to creatures even weirder than Marco...

"Don't worry. Other then food, I won't ask for much more.," Darin politely said with a nod. As a gryphon, he wasn't the type to suit up and likely wouldn't anyway.

Caelan already felt he had anything he needed and didn't want anyone asking why the "shoulder" of his armor appeared to be slightly damaged.

Bikil was intrigued by the idea of armor, but doubted they would have what he needed. As a fur dragon, he lacked the scales of a normal dragon and was also much lighter. Armor designed for a bigger and stronger dragon would possibly weigh him down and any lighter armor probably wouldn't fit a dragon at all. Or so he thought anyways.

Umbra grinned delightfully, his eyes seemingly growing darker as he gazed at Nadia. "Oh....Oh, I like you, feisty! Maybe you'll prove not to be boring after all." He snickered and then cocked his ears, hearing about food and immediately wanting to partake, though he also had a hankering for the city considering he could listen in on some conversations people were having and perhaps grab some juicy information that he could bring back. After watching the Gryphon talk for awhile he spun his head back around to the two girls. "I wouldn't dream of hurting your sister, way to judge a book by its cover, tsk tsk, Miss, tsk tsk." The being ran both of his hands through his hair and then walked passed the two. "Things will go alot smoother if you're niiiicccceee" He sang the 'nice' part, knowing it would probably tick her off, though it seemed everything did. Though just because he wanted to annoy her didn't mean he hated her. Wonder what her deal is. He pondered to himself as he made his way to the doors. "If everyone's going to be so boring and shut me out then I think I'll go out on my own, doubt anyone would give a damn if I died anyways." Every word he spoke he said with a half-smile.

Omen glanced at Darin. "Although I appreciate that, I insist that you ask for anything you may need. It is my job to make sure you all are well prepared. If you have any interest in equipment, then it is no trouble to supply it. The blacksmith does make gear for gryphons, if you would like any. However, you're not forced to use any."

Firefly smiled and nodded to Shade. "Of course. I'm here to help." She then glanced around the room. "If anyone else wants to see the blacksmith, then don't hesitate to join us."

Nadia growled and balled her hands into fists. "Pfft. Feisty. I'll show you feisty, you little--"

"Nadia, calm down." Abby sighed. "He has a point, you know. You should try being a little nicer."

"Nice?! I was being nice! I didn't even do anything! I wasn't bothering anyone!"

Abby gave her a stern look. "You could still do better. Don't be so rash. You shouldn't go looking for trouble."

"But I wasn't! He's the one that was--"

"He didn't even do anything. You need to control your temper."

"Ugh!" Nadia groaned and folded her arms with a huff.

The Shadow Being could hear the full conversation between the girls and while he had originally planned on going alone he thought that he might be able to get more information if he stuck around with someone, and so far they were the only ones who didn't bore him. "Hm..." He then took a few steps back towards where they were until he was beside them. "Y'know, I should probably stick with someone, and you two seem alright. Congratulations, I am your new travelling buddy!" He gave a wink and took a bow. "Umbra, at your service, and hey, maybe you'll learn to give compliments rather than threats."

"I'll keep that in mind though I have my reasons.," Darin said respectfully. His mind wondered to a dark place that brought along negative feelings.

"Well.. It can't hurt to see what they have.," Bikil said agreeing to go. "I'll go as well. I need to make certain... repairs.," Caelan said being careful with his words.

Omen gave a nod. "Understood." He was then quiet for a moment. He thought he noticed a change in Darin's demeanor. "Does something trouble you?"

Firefly smiled at Bikil and Caelan. "The more the merrier. We should probably get going to the blacksmith then. We don't want to wait too late, since he could get busy with other tasks."

Abby smiled at Umbra and giggled lightly. "I'm Abby. The one without any manners is my sister Nadia."

Nadia gave a huff and narrowed her gaze on him. "Hmph. I wasn't looking for any traveling buddies, and I don't give compliments for no reason." She grumbled.

Abby elbowed her. "Ahem." She gave her sister a stern look.

Nadia glanced at her. "What? It's not like I insulted him or tried to hit him." She explained. "Yet." She muttered under her breath.

She crossed her arms. "You could still always be nicer."

"Ugh." Nadia sighed miserably and started grumbling under her breath.

Meanwhile, Abby started looking around the room. She noticed that not everyone had introduced themselves and joined the group. She smiled and started walking over to Flame and Umbrius.

When Nadia noticed this, her eyes widened. "Abby, what are you doing?"

Her sister glanced back at her as she continued walking. "Making friends. You should try it sometime." She smiled.

"What? No! Don't talk to them! Abby!"

Abby ignored her sister and made it over to Flame and Umbrius. "Hi." She smiled. "Why are you two just sitting over here by yourselves? Don't you want to make friends? I promise I don't bite." She giggled a bit. "My name's Abby, by the way."

Abby smiled wider. "Well, thank you. Your names sound pretty neat." She then glanced back at her sister. Nadia was standing there with her arms crossed, watching them very closely. She had started to tap her foot quickly. When Abby looked over, she gestured for her sister to move away from the strange creatures.

Abby sighed and glanced back at them. "That's my sister, Nadia, over there. If you want, you could come with us. I wanted to get a look at the city, and we would probably stop by the blacksmith. Why don't you join us?"

Nadia was still watching them, nearly glaring. With her arms still crossed, she started to tighten her hands around the sleeves of her leather jacket.

Umbra stood next to Nadia, he could tell that Abby would be easiest to work with and that's why he wanted to hang back with Nadia, she was more of a challenge and she intrigued him. "So, Nadia, What crawled up your skirt to get you so angry, eh?" He questioned, eyeing her up and down, trying to figure out what race she could be and where she was from. "Your sister has a much friendlier outlook on life. You seem....Overprotective, maybe something happened to your family, she's the only one left? If so I can relate, I won't bore you with the details though, you being so anti-social and hating me and all."

"Well, it's a cool nickname. I don't really have one myself. Abby is just short for Abigail." She then smiled brightly when Umbrius said they would join them. "Great! We can get our stuff all ready to go, and get something to eat. Stocking up would be good, but there should be edible animals to find along the way. My sister is a skilled hunter. She could easily catch something for us. So long as there actually is something to catch anyway."

Nadia didn't even glance at Umbra. She seemed to be ignoring him as she watched her sister make friends. "Shut up." She grumbled. "I'm trying to listen." She was then quiet for a brief moment. "And that stuff is none of your dang business, so why don't you just go bother someone else." She growled.

Umbra huffed and dramatically threw his head to the side, his arms folding at his chest. "Well maybe I want to bother you!" He said seemingly annoyed though not really, he was kind of mocking her in a subtle way, if she wanted to treat him like garbage he could easily do the same. "Y'know, eavesdropping is a really bad habit, you better watch out, it could kill ya...." He wanted her attention but couldn't quite get it so he decided on something to catch her ear for a moment, maybe get some information off of her no matter how little. "So...." He began. "Your sisters cute." He said with a grin, hoping the bluff would be called.

Knowing a rather important conversation was taking place, Marco backed away, but he has decided to follow the group wherever they go to see if there was a way to return home. He didn't want to be part of the way, but by the sound of it, it looked like he wouldn't have any other choice. So he waited for everybody to get ready...

"It's.. it's nothing. Don't worry about it. Just remembered something I would rather not remember.," Darin said.

"My name is Bikil. I've heard about you-- rumors anyway. It's nice to meet you.," the fur dragon replied. "And you can call me Caelan.," Caelan added.

"No-- the pleasure is mine. Where I come from, no-one has seen a dragon in a long long time.," Caelan respectfully said. In his world, dragons were long extinct due to the error of man.

"Don't worry about.," Caelan said with a smile. "To answer your question, dragons have long been extinct in my world. The closest thing we have are gryphons, actually.," he added nervously glancing at Darin.

"We did, sadly. It is said that humans saw mythical creatures as a threat and attempted an mass extermination. Dragons were no longer ... and lesser creatures went into hiding.," Caelan said pausing in the middle. He was not proud of his people's history.

"Look, I am not proud of my people's history. Supposedly, one side wanted to control the other and there was conflict. It was a long time ago.," Caelan said glancing nervously at Shade.

Marco was tired of waiting. He knew that the best way to approach the group was if he acted casually, so that nobody would suspect h was spying. He grabbed a book and walked right into Calean, pretending to bump into the weird werewolf creature.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't see you there. I was reading this book." he said, pretending.

Nadia hadn't really been paying much attention to Umbra. She was still keeping a close eye on Abby and.... Whatever it was she was talking to. However, when she heard the shadow being mention her sister, her attention had been grabbed. "What?!" She asked, turning her head sharply. "You better stay away from her." She snarled. She didn't really catch the bluff, and didn't stop to think of the possibility. She just wanted to keep Abby safe, and so far, she didn't trust anyone in the slightest.

Omen blinked and was quiet a moment. "I.... See..." He muttered. He then cleared his throat. "Well, I won't pry into private matters then." He then paused. "But.... If you, uh... Ever need someone to listen... Then I would not hesitate to lend an ear." He offered to Darin.

Firefly remained quiet as she listened to the conversation. Hearing that so few dragons existed in other worlds made her sad, but also a little curious as to what their worlds were actually like. However, hearing that Caelan's kind had killed dragons did make her a little nervous. Firefly wondered why a human would be summoned to help her kind if they had killed dragons. Still, Caelan didn't seem too bad. Maybe he had changed.

"I'm not surprised and can tell that you are a respectable warrior.," Caelan said with respect. "We humans aren't all bad. Our history tells us that some tried to save the dragons, but unforgivably the good rarely outweighs the bad. Sometimes, it's easy to be intimated or to simply accept something-- even if we ourselves we know it's not right.," Caelan explained.

"Don't worry about.," Caelan said as Marco bumped into him.

Anna nodded at Omen, trying not to sound too excited about the idea of food she didn't have to pay for - or steal. "If you insist. In that case, I'll gladly eat first. I haven't eaten much today, and I'm starving!"

She started for the door, sure they were about to be off now that that was settled, but pulled up short and glanced back as conversations began. She listened intently to all of them, trying to get to know her traveling companions. They would be spending a lot of time together, no doubt. Quests such as these never ended quickly. She listened to the talk about armor and knew she wouldn't be going to the blacksmith. She was happy with her dagger, and it certainly didn't need sharpened. She took care to keep up with it on her own. It meant a great deal to her. Her sword was fine, too, though she only ever used it to practice, and only because she had to. The same with wearing her armor. She'd rather not. It felt too constricting to her. Still, she had to, and was fortunate enough to have been wearing it when she leaped through the portal. She knew she didn't have to wear it here, but it was probably better to be safe. Besides, she didn't know where she'd leave it that it would be safe from theft.

The conversations went on, and she continued to listen, particularly struck by the Shadow Creature's conversation with the two sisters. As she listened, her eyes caught on a new creature she hadn't noticed before. Another dragon, though he seemed remarkably different from the rest, and with him was a crow. A crow? Really? She was surprised by that. She watched him hide in the shadows, watching. Perhaps he was taking in his surroundings, just like her. Though he also seemed a bit nervous. She was surprised when she saw him pick up a book and walk somewhat boldly into the group. He walked straight into the one who had introduced himself as Caelan and then began to apologize. She could tell he wasn't being sincere, and had purposely bumped into the young man.

Anna couldn't help herself, and moved slowly up to the dragon. "Is it a good book?" She asked.

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Thomas nodded to Firefly, his mind racing. He could barely think, except about getting out of the room that seemed to close on him more and more the longer he stayed in it. He should have been paying attention to his surroundings, getting to know his traveling companions better, but he simply couldn't. His mind was on only one thing. Hopefully Rivers was paying enough attention for the both of them. He nodded again. "Alright, then, I'll... I'll get a good look once we're on our way, outside of the city. For now..." He paused to think. He certainly wasn't hungry. Far from it. He almost felt he could be sick at any moment. As far as shopping, he didn't need to do any of that. He had everything he needed. Plenty of supplies were in his pack. He'd worn it for the trek to investigate the portal and anything he might find beyond. This was far from what he was expecting. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, quite aware that the dragon was waiting for his response, he went on. "For now, I'll go along to the blacksmith."

His weapons could do with some sharpening, though he preferred to do it himself. At least it was something to get him out of the library. Conversations were going on all about him, but still he couldn't focus on them. He was ready to excuse himself and wait for the others outside when a piece of dialogue floated to his ears, catching his attention. ""We were conversing with each other, discussing what we may need to do here."

Immediately, he glanced at Rivers. That's exactly what they should be doing. He hadn't said one word to her since they'd arrived, and honestly had no idea what she was thinking about the whole thing. She'd seemed eager to know more, and to know how to prepare herself, but he shouldn't assume she really wanted to stay. He'd heard her voice among the others and tried to remember what she'd said, but it wasn't coming to him. He really needed to calm his mind so he could focus. Perhaps talking to her was just the way to do that.

He spotted her among the others, talking to a new dragon he hadn't seen before. She was just starting the conversation, and Thomas could see the spark in her eye. She was up to something, and he knew better than to interrupt.

Quote: redwes

"I'm not surprised and can tell that you are a respectable warrior.," Caelan said with respect. "We humans aren't all bad. Our history tells us that some tried to save the dragons, but unforgivably the good rarely outweighs the bad. Sometimes, it's easy to be intimated or to simply accept something-- even if we ourselves we know it's not right.," Caelan explained.

"Don't worry about.," Caelan said as Marco bumped into him.

Marco gazed in wonder as he saw that bipedal creature. What was best, he didn't seem to mind that "accidental" bump. The marsh dragon was calmer now. He felt a little bad for spying, but the group seems very likable and friendly, and didn't seem to have noticed he was spying earlier.
Kira on the other hand, was hiding behind his head, terrified. All of those creatures seemed hungry and scary, and she didn't want to be part of it in any way.

Abby nodded. "Yeah, it would be good to pack some fruit. My sister and I do prefer meat, but having a nice, balanced diet is always important. Besides, we do need to be considerate of the rest of the group. Some of them might be vegetarians." She paused and took a moment to glance around the room herself before looking back at them. "Um, I guess?" She shrugged to Flame's question. "I think we're supposed to stay together, though. I mean, our guides are over there. The others might be getting ready to leave. We should probably catch up."

Firefly smiled and nodded to Thomas. "Alright. We should be leaving here in a moment. I mean, we can't spend all day just standing around chatting. We need to prepare."

Omen gave a slight nod to Anna. He then noticed her direct her attention to another dragon. He appeared to be traveling with a crow. Omen hadn't really noticed him earlier. He must have been off hiding somewhere.

Realizing that not everyone had gathered around, Omen looked around the room to see where the others were. He saw a group of creatures that he had never seen before, a couple of humanoids, and two creatures he couldn't quite describe. They looked strange to him, but he thought nothing of it.

The few remaining stragglers needed to meet up with the others. Still, Omen wasn't one to socialize unless he had to. He hoped they would all just quietly follow behind him and Firefly.

Quote: RumpleLover

Anna nodded at Omen, trying not to sound too excited about the idea of food she didn't have to pay for - or steal. "If you insist. In that case, I'll gladly eat first. I haven't eaten much today, and I'm starving!"

She started for the door, sure they were about to be off now that that was settled, but pulled up short and glanced back as conversations began. She listened intently to all of them, trying to get to know her traveling companions. They would be spending a lot of time together, no doubt. Quests such as these never ended quickly. She listened to the talk about armor and knew she wouldn't be going to the blacksmith. She was happy with her dagger, and it certainly didn't need sharpened. She took care to keep up with it on her own. It meant a great deal to her. Her sword was fine, too, though she only ever used it to practice, and only because she had to. The same with wearing her armor. She'd rather not. It felt too constricting to her. Still, she had to, and was fortunate enough to have been wearing it when she leaped through the portal. She knew she didn't have to wear it here, but it was probably better to be safe. Besides, she didn't know where she'd leave it that it would be safe from theft.

The conversations went on, and she continued to listen, particularly struck by the Shadow Creature's conversation with the two sisters. As she listened, her eyes caught on a new creature she hadn't noticed before. Another dragon, though he seemed remarkably different from the rest, and with him was a crow. A crow? Really? She was surprised by that. She watched him hide in the shadows, watching. Perhaps he was taking in his surroundings, just like her. Though he also seemed a bit nervous. She was surprised when she saw him pick up a book and walk somewhat boldly into the group. He walked straight into the one who had introduced himself as Caelan and then began to apologize. She could tell he wasn't being sincere, and had purposely bumped into the young man.

Anna couldn't help herself, and moved slowly up to the dragon. "Is it a good book?"

Marco was nodding off, laughing a little about his proud companion's fright. It was after a while that he noticed someone was talking to him.
"Wait, what? Who? Oh, the book, yeah, it... it's very good." Marco said, stammering, not having any idea of that random book he picked. He proceeded to open the book and pretended to continued reading. It wasn't exactly a book, it was more of a map guide, so he started watching the different landscapes as if he was interested in topography.

Thomas noded to Firefly, hoping his relief wasn't too obvious, then continued to watch Rivers. She was now moving behind the dragon to glace over his shoulder at the book. "Oh yeah?" She asked in response to his answer. "What's it about?"

He knew she was feeling him out, and rightly so. Why was he reading when they were here for such an important mission not everyone seemed to want to be involved in? If he wanted to be involved, why was he spending his time reading and not paying attention to what was going on? And if he didn't want to be involved, why wasn't he putting up a fight, like the rest?

Marco was unable to grasp what his new companion was thinking, but one thing was clear to him; he didn't need the book anymore.
"Well, I suppose that is quite enough of that. I have read plenty." he exclaimed naturally, putting the book aside.
"Hey Kira, come on, don't be rude. Get out and say hello." Marco said, knowing the nervous crow was hiding behind his head. Kira didn't budge. She didn't have any interest letting her presence known.

"Yes," Anna replied, nodding, "I suppose we should be off on our journey... I don't think I caught your name. Mine's Anna."

Normally, she wouldn't give her name before whomever she was talking to, though normally, she wouldn't give her name at all. She knew the dragon was lying about reading the book, but she'd known that since the moment she'd seen him pick it up. What she was trying to decipher was why. Was he a thief? She'd played that game many times and knew it was a perfect way to make off with some loot. Observe from the shadows before moving in and pretending to collide, just to make off with something in the process. But no, he didn't seem the type. He seemed too nervous and unsure, and sure, anyone except the most hardened criminals would be nervous before a heist, even a small one, but this seemed deeper. He was most likely just nervous and wary of all the strange creatures about them. She certainly didn't blame him. She trusted none of them except Culley, and she wasn't even sure she wanted to trust him at the moment. Still, this one was a dragon. Why should he be scared?

Marco was surprised by the straightforwardness. He wasn't use to that kindness except from Kira's part, if her treatment could be called such a thing.
"Oh, we'll, my name's Marco. Nice to, eh, meet you." he greeted, stammering and not looking at Anna directly. He seemed very nervous, and even embarrassed. Not too many showed that kindness to him, so he wanted to make a good impression.
"The bird behind me is Kira. She's not much of a talker, but she's my only friend." Marco then explained after some hesitation, convinced that the crow wasn't coming out any time. Kira listened with indifference, yet relieved that Marco didn't forced her to come out.

"Only friend, huh? Well, consider me another one," Anna said with a smile. She may not trust him, but becoming friends wouldn't be a bad thing, especially not since they were all going on this quest together, and it certainly wouldn't do to be enemies. Indeed, she did feel somewhat sympathetic toward him, as she didn't have too many friends, either. She leaned closer, not wanting to embarrass him in front of the others. "And you can relax a bit, alright? I don't bite." She grinned, hoping to ease the tension he seemed to be feeling.

That friend invitation seemed to have Marco exited. All his life, Kira was the only one with him, and it took time for them to be that close to one another. He got even more embarrassed when Anna approached him.
"Friends already? Oh... thanks... thank you miss Anna. I..." Marco stopped, obviously too nervous. He was a rather large dragon, but he was behaving like a small child.
"...I... having friends is certainly nice." he added, liking Anna a lot already. He didn't even noticed that Kira showed herself a little above his head, glaring at Anna. The crow was obviously jealous, but after that quick stare, she hid again, pretending she didn't care.

Anna laughed lightly, enjoying the dragon's excitement. Perhaps he was someone she really could trust. "It certainly is," she agreed. "I believe the group is getting ready to head out. Would you rather go eat, or go to the blacksmith? Or maybe there's somewhere else you'd rather go. If so, you should tell Firefly." She paused to point toward Firefly. "She's the red dragon over there. If you weren't aware of that..." She glanced to Marco as she finished, waiting to see if he'd give himself away about spying. Whether he did or not, she didn't care. It was just a habit for her, observing those around her. She still wondered about him, but it would be easy enough to learn his story now that he'd accepted her friendship so easily.

Marco took a quick glance at Firefly, kinda glad Anna seems well acquainted with a dragon like himself. That would mean she is use to approach dragons without fear, which he liked. Back home, most were terrified of him, hence his loneliness. The moment was interrupted by the rumbling in his belly.
"Oh, well, I think it's best if I eat first. Haven't eaten a thing since I got here. Do you have fish and spinach?" he asked, that combination being his favorite food. Despite being a dragon, he wasn't much of a meat eater.

"I'm not sure, Firefly will have to let us know," Anna said kindly to Marco.

She turned toward the one who had introduced herself as Flame. It was a nickname, if she remembered correctly. She listened as the other made a suggestion, then nodded, "I agree. It does seem to make sense."

She then turned her attention to Firefly and Omen. It wasn't her place to take charge and make decisions, and she wasn't sure she wanted to. She had been thrown into the middle of this just like the rest of them, and was just as unsure about everything as they. "Well, you're our guides. What do you say?"

Marco was surprised. Anna seemed like a big influence among the group, something that he grew to admire rather quickly. But if everyone was going to split in groups, he wanted to go with her. But just in case that wasn't possible, he wanted to ask something that was bothering him;
"Excuse me, I hope you don't get offended or if I sound rude but... just exactly what are you? You look like a tall goblin with pointy ears." Marco expressed, feeling silly. His home had goblins, trolls and even some occasional Minotaurs, but he has never seen anything like Anna.

Anna turned her attention back to Marco. She prepared herself for the worst when he mentioned not sounding rude, but after he finished all she could do was laugh. "A tall goblin with pointy ears?" She laughed again. "That's the first time I've heard that. I like it." She wiped the tears forming in her eyes, and reined her laughing under control. "No, Marco," she continued, shaking her head, "I am not a goblin. I am an Elf. From the land of Roirud."

Marco grew embarrassed when Anna laughed. He was pretty sensible, and he felt like he was being mocked. Either way, he didn't want to show it, and simply continued the conversation as if nothing happened.
"Elf...elf?" he replied, flicking his tongue in a rather comical way as if he had trouble pronouncing the letter L. At least it was a very short word and it wasn't going to be difficult to remember.
"Where I came from we don't have... elf. We do have a lot of goblins though." he pointed out, wanting Anna to understand why the confusion, though he still felt silly. He couldn't even tell the plural of the word.

Anna nodded again, still trying to keep her laughter in check. It was just such a comical image the thought brought to her mind. A goblin elf. Now there was a contradiction. There was nothing an elf hated more than a goblin. Trying to push the image away, she focused on Marco, glancing around the room as she spoke. "I know what you mean. I've seen dragons and gryphons before, but many of these other creatures I've never seen before. I don't even know what they are." She shrugged. "But I suppose we'll figure it all out as we get to know each other." She directed her attention back to Marco, smiling. "And now you know what two of us are, even if you've never seen one before."

Marco agreed. Anna wasn't the only creature he knew nothing about. There were many others he have never seen before, and knew he would eventually if they were going to get together to battle whatever there was out there.
"So... what group will you be in?" he asked hesitantly as he noticed everyone was getting ready to divide and leave.