-Frozen Landscape [Infireus]-

[Kour'el Kha'Serith]

Immanis, in the Season of Winter, Era I of the Celestine Mandate, Era XV Post Fractum.

Snow was falling and it had ruined the draconess' plans of traveling further as well as grounding her on the side of a mountain. The snow was falling thickly enough to making sight difficult, especially up in the air around the peaks of the mountains where the air currents were different and the snow swirled and eddied enough to make Kour'el uncomfortable in her lone vice. She was not used to flying around mountains int he best of times, flying in a snowstorm was suicidal, and while the emerald female often longed for death to end her misery, she was not about to commit suicide by flying head first into a mountain. The snow was also wet and sticky, clinging to her clothes and fur and weighing heavily on her wings, ensuring she had to flap almost constantly to keep them clear of the stuff.

So she had landed on a small plateau where a few stunted pine trees grew in clumps. In the middle of one of those clumps, protected by the wind and the worst of the snow, she had tucked away her belongings, the ragged messenger bag stuffed with the few possessions she had kept when she had fled her family and her old life, abandoning them when she had been cursed. The curse had been lifted, she had regained her draconic body but her mind had been shattered by the experience, and she was nothing but a gaunt shadow of the draconess she once was.

Perhaps the saddest thing about Kour and her current state was the fact she was aware of her fall from grace, and was unable to summon the hope that things would get better eventually. With the lose of her mate, Kour'el had devoted herself to her children and her family. She had sought out new ways to care for and protect them and to better herself, as well as learning about her own race's history, taking up painting, learning how to use the matare. She was accustomed to taking care of herself, to coping. Even in adversity she had always before remained an optimist, she was a fighter, incapable of thinking of herself as a victim.

Perhaps for the first time in her life, Kour'el was left feeling entirely helpless. She had been pitted against forces she could not fully understand nor sucessfully deny. Self relience had not helped her this time, worse there seemed no action she could take to prevent the curse from happening again.

Because it was not in her to take on the role of victim hood, therefore she could not find solace in self pity. She could only wait. Wait to be changed again, wait for her children to be old enough to understand and forgive her for leaving them, or perhaps spend the rest of her life waiting for salvation that would never come, stewing in the soup of anger, fear and grief for the rest of her wretched life.

So she made snowmen. Packing together the snow was easy enough, forming it into semblances of life easier. She even gave the mounds pointy ears to represent the elves and soft skins she so hated. Then, her knives drawn she attacked, dancing through the snow, slashing and stabbing with abandon. Killing both her snow victims and her memories with the long knife and saex. Soon she was sweating in her furs, and she removed a few layers so she didn't overheat, the steam rising from her clothes and body as she continued her deadly dance.

[Infireus]

OOC: sorry for the rather plain beginning, not sure why but this work seemed alittle strange and plain to me.
IC: Infireus had set out from high peak a few brightenings. The snow that was almost always falling didn’t bother him as much as it did when he first arrived in this frigid place. In fact he had almost become accustomed to the cold that assaulted him always while he was up in the mountains. Why had he decided to come here, he still didn’t know. He went where his feet had lead him, and even though it had lead him into a pitched battle he still didn’t mind.

So why had Infireus left the safety of high peak and walked into the mountains. Well the answer was that high peak wasn’t as safe for a dracon in his original form as the mountains were. So he had left high peak on a “hunting trip” and after half a day of travelling hide himself in some snow and began the slow and painful job of shape changing into his original form.

He had then spent a few days in this form travelling. The cold bothered him a bit more but he was well prepared for the travel. He had food and addition cloth that would last him a few more days and he was well armed with two long swords strapped and belted to his side and back. The swords had come from the high peak Armoury and in truth he doubted they would be missed for a few days. He had put on a rather larger robe then usual. It was black and covered him from head to toe. No sight of his hands or there talon, no sign of his head and his increasingly sharp teeth. Only his tail with its one boney spike at the very end would of given him away for a dracon. Wings would of also of been a problem if he had them, but there removal in a rather ugly and painful way had stopped there growth. Only two bloody and mutilated stumps were left, they to covered by the robe but seen as lumps on his back.

It was also a risk whenever he left high peak to do this. Every time he was afraid that the change of his tracks or that a hunter would stumble across him while shape changing. Each fear though disappeared when he retook his real form.

After a time of trekking through the mountains for a few days he stopped and looked up into the sky. He had a strange feeling in his body, long forgotten but increasingly familiar. It took him awhile to remember the last time that he had felt it. After a little more walking he realised that it was the call, long forgotten since he had spent any time among dracon kind since the death of his family.

At first he thought his eyes had failed him or that he was dreaming. While the snow was falling in ever increasing amounts a female dracon was doing battle...with snowmen. As he walked closer he realised with an even stranger feeling that all of the snowmen had pointy ears and that the woman was fighting them with real fury. Not sure whether he should laugh or stare he walked closer until he was able to see her without the snow causing problems.

He drew the sword at his side and placed the point of it straight into the ground in front of him. He kept his hood up however for while he knew that the dracon would of already sensed what he was he thought himself ugly and rather disgusting in this form with its scars and injurys. He would wait and see just what was happening here, and whether or not it was any interest to him, after all; the day was getting rather late.

[Kour'el Kha'Serith]

OoC: Probably because I hate starting new threads

The gaunt emerald draconess had been aware of the call building up for some time, the tingle in the back of her mind coupled with the chills running down her spine was hard to miss, even with her diseased mind. However, the utter destruction of the snowmen elves was more pressing than the arrival of a fellow dracon. She put the dracon out of her mind, vaguely keeping tabs on them from the corner of her eye in case they proved to be a foe.

As much as it pained her once to admit, even dracons could and would prey on their fellow scale kin. Her own brother had been poisoned by dracons they had tried to help and she had been tortured by one who had aligned himself with an evil dwarf. Race was not a guarantee of safety in the empire. The only person that was trustworthy was yourself Kour'el had learned long ago, except she didn't even trust herself anymore, not since her body had been taken and she had been given an elven form.

Her saex and long knife continued to slice through the air and the snowmen, the air displaced by her movements creating eddies and waves int he falling snow. Finally, as the last snowman feel apart and crumbled at her feet, the gaunt draconess turned her full attention to her cloaked visitor. She was appraising him and his weapon up like a wolf sizes up a herd of deer.

She would have been attractive once, her scales were a rich, vibrant emerald green, and layered on that was splashes of blue, like spatters of fresh paint. Her ears, horns and wings also were the same rich blue. However the skin of her face was pulled tightly against her snout and cheeks, her hostile amber eyes were shadowed by both her eye ridges and lack of sleep. The rest of her was skinny too, though she did have defined muscles on her shoulders, chest and back, she was a flier though even her wings were marred, each of them carrying a large X brand on the membrane between the fourth and fifth fingers.

Her eyes though were perhaps the worst. Amber in colour, they appeared nevertheless darker than the abyss. Fires burned in deep in them and seemed to be the only life therein. She raised an eye ridge finally and in a frosty voice address the stranger in accented draconi. " I suppose I would say glalkat if I were polite, but instead I'll ask what the hell you're doing here." She stood waiting for his answer, knives in hand, seeming almost bored, but ready to act if he displeased her. Which really wasn't hard these brightenings.

[Infireus]

Infireus stood so still that the snow actually began to pile up on his shoulders. He hadn't seen another dracon for almost ten seasons and in truth the draconi that she spoke brought up rather sad memories. He was though strong willed and put them to the side of his mind for a while. He reached up with one of his hands to pull back his hood to reveal his face to the dracon in front. It was flat and rather trianglar, with small scars criss-cross all over and one rather large scar that seemed to run from the bottom of the right side of his face right up to the top left. His teeth were sharp and point but only seen when the travesty of his face was trying to smile, which it was now, Infireus head was also covered with fully healed burns. His eyes though were like small traped emeralds that seemed to burn with some small light behind them, his scales were also a deep dark green that shone like polish metal.

He began to tap his sword with his right hand talon. The sound rang out amoung the mountains around and echo'ed right back to him, it sharp almost deadly sound that almost echo'ed the moment when steel met steel. Infireus exaimed the dracon infront of him with all the sharp intencty that he was able to muster. It had been awhile since he had seen another dracon and he intended to imprint this ones figure in his mind for later. The shape of her body and face and the sight of her wings was all takening in and imprinted.

"Do i need a reason to travel where i do little dracon", replied Infireus. He knew that calling her small would only aggrovate her but for some reason she seemed be a rather funny creature.
"In truth i was wondering what a dracon was doing on the side of a mountain only lightly clothed, starved and killing elven snowmen". His voice was rather rough and alittle hoarse at times but it seemed to carry what he said well enough to be understood, even if she would have to strain.

[Kour'el Kha'Serith]

Music: "I Stand Alone" - Godsmack

Amber eyes watched indifferently as the stranger removed his cloak and showed the ruins of his own face. She had seen better looking males in her time, Vander and Jacques were perhaps the most beautiful dracons she had seen to date, though this one had his own charm to the draconess. His scars faintly interested her, before she would have asked about them, found out why he was covered with them and what had happened to his wings. It was fairly obvious he lacked those, like her cousin Links did.

But now, now she cared little about this strange scale brother. She would have dismissed him entirely or left had it not been snowing such. She was stuck on the plateau until it let up some and she could safely navigate the air currents around the mountains. Her hard golden eyes didn't stray from his green ones as he began to tap his claws against his sword. A gesture she found somewhat asinine, she wondered if it was supposed to scare her. If it was, he was failing miserable. Kour'el had killed bigger, stronger things than him with her bare hands and her teeth. Likely she would do so again.

Perhaps it was simply a typical male move, they always had to be stroking something, and most compensated for the manhood department with a large, stupid looking weapon. Perhaps that's why he had two such swords, he was really lacking in some areas. She snickered, not caring if he her her or not and if he figured out she was laughing at him.

" It's funny you know, how a small creature can kill a large one with ease. Like a snake or a scorpion." She drawled, the threat obvious in her comparison. "As for what I'm doing here, lets see you fly in a blizzard in air currents that change in a second. Oh wait, you can't." Her eyes glittered cruelly and her face twisted into a grin at his misfortune before she continued, her voice dripping with disdained now. " As for the snowmen, why not elves? Oh, and exercise keeps you warm, sweating in winter clothes is dangerous, it will kill you fast when it cools. A basic cold weather tip for you, free of charge. As for food, the only thing I see that I could hunt down and eat is you, no beasts or soft skins in site."

[Infireus]

"A threat that only a dracon could make", said Infireus while openly displaying his ammusment. "In truth I would love to see another race try to eat us".
He again sized the dracon in front of him, but instead of looking to see what state that she was in he looked to find some remantant of a scale sister in her. Instead he saw a beast in pain, something that had gone feral. It took only alittle while but soon the idea that maybe it would be better to put her out of her misery, it would be the proper thing to do after all the death threats.

"Let us fight then since you want it so badly, your poison wont work on me proud diatar", said Infireus. His voice that time was cold and with out amusement but for some reason his face stayed in that amused state. If you looked closly you might of even seen happiness when he meantioned fighting.

Infireus steped forward while leaving the sword in the ground infront of him. He did not look at it or even notice that it was there. Instead his hand went to the hilt that the hood had revealed, the one strapped to his back. He walked forward slowly with the snow blowing in circles around him, his bone tipped tail was also swinging dangerously. He looked ready for the fight, perparedness seemed to emanate from him and his eyes were fixed onto hers with the singlar idea to kill.

[Kour'el Kha'Serith]

OoC: Do you want to find a mod for the fight or have one of us peer mod the outcome? It doesn't matter to me either way so whatever works best for you is fine with me ^^

Music: "How to Save a Life" ~ The Fray

Golden eyes narrowed and the draconess cocked her head to the side, listening to something hidden in his words. Proud Diantar? An odd choice of words for a fellow dracon in his natural form, unless she had been graced with a Moraden who had willing shed his coward's guise? A dark smile graced her features, her ivory fangs bared before she licked her thing scaled lips slowly, watching him approach with his weapon, leaving one behind in the snow for some reason.

'You call me Diantar yet you yourself are in your natural form. What made you shed the chains briefly?" She hissed in her silky, throaty voice, disgust apparent in the gaunt lines of her face and her eyes. Moradens really were no better than the softskins she so hated. Lower really. The softskins couldn't help the bad roll of the dice they had earned to be born in a lesser race, but a Moraden willingly shed his natural form and willingly changed his flesh into a lesser race. Some of them went as far as mating with elves and humans. Her lip curled and she released a pent up breath in a low hiss, her tail lashing to the side once, before she calmed herself again.

Circling to the left, she kept her reptilian eyes on him, her saex held against her left forearm and across her chest to defend herself while her long knife held loosely at her sides, waiting for the most oppurtune time to strike out against the strange dracon. Soon her meadow would be stained with black blood, to match the corpses of the fallen snowmen. Her long whip like trail weaved from side to side lazily, brushing against the snow light as a feather in places as she waited for him to reach her and the new dance to begin.

[Infireus]

OOC: I dont intend to cause physical injury or kill you and i in turn dont plan to die or get hurt either so i guess peer moding would be fine.

Infireus walked foward as easily as if he was walking down a road on a fine summer day. The snow didn't bother him infact he liked to think that it aided him. His hand griped the hilt that poked out to the side of his head and if he was at all worried about the dracon infront of him then he showed no sign.

"I chose the path of Moraden not to hide or to flee. Not to conform or to change what we are", said Infireus while walking forward.
He suddenly stopped about 5 metres away from the dracon, well out of attacking range. "I chose these chains..."
He suddenly lept forward in a blur of movement, he was spinning while using his tail for balance while drawing his sword at the same time. His movement kicked up snow until that was an almost white curtain that confused the senses and would almost hide his pressence, until the sword came down quick and smooth right above her head.
"For revenge against the race that killed all my family and tortured me", yelled Infireus in time with the movements. His eyes shinning with fury.