1x1 maybe?

[Nanashi]

((Go ahead.))

 

"A-Ah?!" Rose's face flushed pink once more at the unexpected compliment, surprised. "N-Not really... I'm not t-that good," she responded, before turning her attention back to Ryu as he flew ahead. She hesitated, a bit confused, but it quickly became clear as Llyr and Ashen reacted, and as she heard Ryu's voice, louder and more challenging than normal. She hesitated, tightening her grip on the dagger in her hand as she watched for a threat.

 

Ashen put the puzzle into a pocket, his eyes reflecting the blue flames he materialized as soon as the dragon spoke to them, causing them to appear almost purple-ish. One of his ears twitched at the dragon's voice, picking up the very faint sound of wings as well as he focused a bit more on what he could hear, rather than what he could see. Ah, well, this was much more interesting than a puzzle, in his opinion(though the puzzle was still fun). He only made a few flames, though, as there were others as well.

 

Llyr put Mosi down carefully, bringing a sickle to life again. It was rather hard to hold someone in one hand without disturbing any injuries they still had as well as hold a weapon in the other, be prepared to use said weapon, and not hit the person you're carrying with it all at once. ...And he might have been good with a weapon, but he wasn't that confident in his abilities.

[AroaraAngelwolf]

A Dragon landed shaking the earth, he was half as tall as Ryu from the flank down, missing his front legs, only having his wings as arms. He was as long as Xipilli plus five feet and his wingspan was a full snake and a half. He snorted smoke and heat rippled from him in waves. "Tiny half breed! You dare challenge me! I eat who I want! The Kristine would add to my fire and the Naga would be tasty, the skin walker would be easy to devour and the reaper I'd crush before eating.... oh.... a maiden.." He narrowed his eyes at the group spotting the human and ran his forked fire like tongue over his scaly lips. "I would savor the Maiden.... it has been a long time since I have eaten a maiden.."

 

 

Ryu's voice grew louder to a boom and the wrath was clearly in his voice. "You. Will. Not. TOUCH. Them!" as he roared the water in the river blasted and split apart, gathering around a growing roar of wind and water that froze to ice that whipped around Ryu. His eyes glowed, and his hair whipped around undoing the ponytail he had it in. Amidst the storm he flew at the other Dragon in a quick slash before taking the battle further away from them. Devorin breathed white hot flames melting the Sandy soil around the water into black glass before taking to the air watching the flames whip around Ryu, who now had his shirt partly scorched off but otherwise unscathed.

[Nanashi]

Rose forced herself not to react at what the other dragon- Devorin, she believed Ryu called him before? Well, it didn't matter- was saying. Which was easier said than done, because her mind quickly went to the worst-case-scenarios, even though some of those were highly unlikely. Ryu would win, surely. ...Especially after seeing his reaction. She wasn't quite aware that anything had that much power(although, thinking about it, she was pretty sure that she should have considering the stories some of them were telling).

 

Ashen watched the battle with feigned disinterest, deciding that, seeing as Ryu's element was sort of his opposite, he'd attempt not to anger the dragon to the part of being drowned. Water was no fun when you couldn't swim. ...Well, water wasn't much fun at all to him, even if he could swim, but what else would you expect from him? Turning most of his attention back to the battle- keeping the rest on his flames, because as fun as setting random things on fire was, now was not the time for that- the fox continued waiting for someone to either die or someone to surrender.

[AroaraAngelwolf]

Xipilli watched wide eyed and the battle shocked that two dragons where fighting the other. He grabbed Rose's arm and curled his tail around her in fear at what looked like two warring elements.

 

 

 

The brick red fire Dragon attempted to claw or bite Ryu, even bellow flames, but the dust and the water coupled with the twister around the slender Dragon made it difficult. "Half breed!!! You challenge me and you hide with your power! COWARD!" He bellowed and went to fly away, then changed direction and snatched up Xipilli, who accidentally dragged rose along. He whimpers in the right grip of the sharp talons.

 

 

He beat his wings to fly off when a massive jet stream hit his wings and buffeted him back. Each direction he took he took he got stuck and he turned around to face Ryu, whose upper half had morphed in anger to the upper body of a Chinese Dragon, his eyes white jade, scales ranging different color greens. His mane wasn't large, and he was missing the fur tufts and longer whiskers of a ancient but he was both frightening and breathing at the same time.

 

The way he moved gracefully in the air and his scales flashed like water rippling. "You have gone too far Devorin. The Wind you need for flight I control, the water that is your weakness is under my command. I am wind and rain, sea and sky. Drop them and face me, or are you the soft belly not wanting to fight a half breed!" his voice resonated through the air, almost like a song. The Dragon dropped the two in the air, but the where cushioned before they hit the ground and let down lightly as the Fire and Wind dragons collided in a bone jarring crash head first as both tumbled through the air in an attempt to get their claws on the other.

 

 

(( Similar to this but with white hair, eyes, horns, and front claws. He has those back teeth as a human but smaller and fits in his mouth))

Edited January 23, 2016 by AroaraAngelwolf

[Nanashi]

Rose started when Xipilli grabbed her, but realizing it was just him, relaxed quickly. Well... At least, until the snake was grabbed, and her along with him. She let out a cry of alarm, grabbing onto the snake and holding on, although it didn't seem like the naga was letting go of her anytime soon. But still, better safe than... Well, dead, right? She cast a glance at Ryu, her eyes widening when she noticed that the dragon was now not quite as... Human-looking. She only half-registered what Ryu said, as she was still processing everything that was going on, but it likely wasn't all that important for her to hear, especially considering that in the next second both her and the snake were falling. She shut her eyes tightly, preparing for impact, and yet... Her and Xipilli both slowed their descent and landed softly, rather than what she was expecting. She was still for a second before opening an eye, not completely believing what was going on, but she was met with the sight of both her and the snake still in good condition and now on the ground, as well at Ashen walking over to them, clearly in no rush. Half of his foxfire followed him, bobbing up and down around him, while the other half remained with Llyr and Mosi who had stayed put.

"Well, I see that my concern wasn't necessary," he stated, though judging by his grin, the fox wasn't actually all that concerned. Not that Rose expected any less from the three-hundred-year-old male. Frankly, she was surprised that the kitsune had even walked over to check on the two of them, though she suspected that it was more because of the snake than anything else. Ah, well, at least the fox was making an effort to not be a complete jerk to him now, even if he still seemed indifferent towards the rest. And by 'indifferent', she meant 'trying to annoy and/or fluster them at any possible opportunity that presented itself'. Said kitsune paused, before holding a hand out for Xipilli to take. Not that the naga actually needed it or anything, but he figured that it'd at least be a nice gesture. And maaaybe he had another reason for it. Maybe.

[AroaraAngelwolf]

Xipilli took ashen's hand in two of his own trembling hands. If he had legs, he would've collapsed. "I got picked up by un el dragón! You're concern is welcoming.... if you don't mind I'd like to get away from the fight....." He said in a small, shaking voice.

 

Ryu's wormy body was good for close combat. But he was no match for the anchent. His scales where harder, and he had all four claws and no wings to worry about... but Devorin had a long neck and larger teeth. Ryu was flung to the ground so hard he bounced twice. When the snake saw the Dragon fall he snagged the fox and was quickly behind Llyr, however he thought rose was still curled in his tail. He was wrong however as the second he turned to get her fire erupted around the woman as the red Dragon landed in front of her. Once again he licked his scaly lips as his head hung inches away from hers, where she can feel the heat radiating from his skin making it hard to breathe and his fire searing a ring of glass around her.

[Nanashi]

Ashen chuckled at the snake's words, but before he could start heading back, Ryu fell and he was being dragged away instead, heading behind Llyr. The fox found it rather cute that Xipilli thought that the bird could protect him, honestly; Or maybe it was just the distance? Or the fact that any attack would hit the reaper first. Well, he was no mind reader; He couldn't tell. He glanced over at Rose, who had been left behind amidst all of this chaos, and smirked slightly as he saw fire around her, weighing his options. Now, the kitsune could go back and help the human- he was immune to fire, after all, a benefit of being a fox of the fire element that he was rather grateful for- or... He could just wait and see what happened. ...Well. He wasn't just going to barge into someone else's fight. And besides, he doubted that Llyr could protect both Mosi and Xipilli at once, should the dragon who could breathe fire attack them.

 

Rose's eyes widened and she froze as fire lit up around her, and then Devorin landed. She gulped, hesitating, before narrowing her gaze and straightening up slightly. It'd do no good to show even more weakness in front of him, after all, would it? And fear was definitely a weakness. She tightened her grip on her dagger, although she doubted it'd be much use against him, a dragon. The human stared back into the dragon's eyes, rather than averting her gaze like she normally would, and stayed quiet as she tried to figure out what the best option was. Running away was impossible. She could try to attack him, but that might fail and lead to him burning her alive or something- And besides, his scales looked really hard. Waiting around was sort of... Well, she didn't know how much longer she could stand, seeing how much she was shaking, even though she was trying to stop it. Combined with the fact that the heat was making it difficult to breathe, there was no real way to win for her. And Ryu... She had seen him fall. As much as she wished to go and help him, it was impossible with her being trapped and all. She wondered, faintly, in the back of her head, if he was still alive.

[AroaraAngelwolf]

Devorin threw his head back and shot a column of white hot flames into the air as he laughed. "Strong maiden! Ha!....I might just...-." the Dragon shank. He was a shifter. His human shape was still talk with large wings, but he at least had hands, although they were scaley and much like Ryu his lower body was dragonesque, with the scales ending at his waist. He stalked to her, knowing she can't go anywhere. "Its a little hard down here to find someone to carry your bloodline..... " He screamed and whipped around slashing.

 

While out for a moment, his human shape was back although bruised and he had a bite mark around his waist where flesh turned scales. The fire flickers in his eyes as he sprang over his head and landed half coiled around Rose. Ryu had sliced a wing to ribbons, grounding the other one. The two hissed at each other until Devorin smiled cruelly "Oh.... I see.... you Eastern dragons are pathetic like that... forming permanent bonds with mortals... if that's how it would be, then both of you will burn together!" He snarled taking a deep breath. Ryu leapt and at that moment and rammed his horns, covered in ice, in his belly before pulling the limp form off and throwing him in the river. The water slowly went around, putting out the fire although leaving a few tendrils for light.

 

He then roared, although it wasn't in victory, but a low musical keening. It was a death song, a form of mourning for dragons. After it was finished he slowly went to rose, approaching her carefully as if not to frighten her more. He stopped a few feet from her, standing there silently waiting for her to speak first.

Edited January 24, 2016 by AroaraAngelwolf

[Nanashi]

Rose flinched slightly when the flames went up and Devorin laughed. Her eyes widened partially when he changed, as that was literally the last thing she expected. In fact, she hadn't even thought that he'd be able to do that. As he walked towards her, she forced herself to stand her ground, unsure of what the dragon was going to do but not about to surrender. At his words, though... Well, she felt sick. That was definitely the last thing she'd ever do- in fact, she'd prefer being dead to that- but before she could even manage to respond to that, she discovered that she wouldn't have to worry about that because the dragon was screaming. She wasn't completely sure what had happened at first, but then there was a familiar color and she wasn't shaking quite as badly anymore.

The human's eyes focused on Devorin, rather than the dragon around her, to find out the cause of his scream. Her eyes quickly locked onto one of his wings as the two dragons hissed at each other, the female staying quiet and just staring at his wing, as there wasn't much else she could do at that very second. She turned her attention to what Devorin was saying as soon as the hissing stopped, her eyes moving to his face. Permanent... Bond? What was he talking about...? ...Well, there was talk of burning, so that didn't seem very important to her right now. Especially considering Ryu's horns were now in the other dragon's stomach- she felt her own stomach rise into her throat at the sight- and then the dragon's body was in the river. Although it sickened her, she couldn't quite bring herself to look away. ...Besides, if she couldn't stomach this, then she wouldn't be able to handle this place at all.

She was silent as Ryu roared, a sound that seemed rather sad to her. But she doubted it was supposed to be happy in the first place. She stayed where she was, afraid that if she took a step, her legs would give out and she'd fall. Instead, she just watched as the dragon approached her, making sure not to look at his horns, before stopping a few feet away. After a few seconds, she spoke. "A-A-Are... Are y-you... Alright?" she asked, looking at his injuries rather than his face.

 

Seeing that the battle was over, Llyr began heading over to where the other dragon's soul floated, the soul weapon vanishing in his hand. As soon as he got closer, the soul began moving towards him, drawn by the natural 'gravity' that reapers had when souls were involved. As soon as it was within reach, the 'bird' took it, before turning around and heading back to Mosi, Xipilli, and Ashen.

[AroaraAngelwolf]

"You're shaking...." came his soft reply. His bruises were already fading, the bite mark stopped bleeding. "Nothing a few hours couldn't heal." He took four more steps towards her, his soft white tail plume lightly brushing her cheek. "Please don't be scared of me...." He near whispers as the tip of his tail went under her chin. "You're safe.... " His maroon shirt was in tatters and he tore it off to rub his claws and horns clean until they were white again. His tail wrapped lightly around her, in case if she does collapse he'd catch her.

 

 

Xipilli watched this with curious interest from behind the Kristine. "I bet two bags of brookside chocolates they'll kiss within the next five minutes...." came his delighted whisper.

[Nanashi]

Rose was quiet for a second, before a tear escaped from her eye. And then another. Soon enough, she was crying, her shoulders shaking with her slight sobs. She turned her gaze to his face and smiled, although it was more relieved than happy. "I-I don't t-t-think I could e-ever be s... Scared, of y-you," she responded, struggling a bit to get the words out in between her quiet sobs. Feeling his tail around her, she finally let her legs give out underneath her, lifting her hands to wipe away her tears. It didn't do much, though. ...At least her sobs had stopped, for the most part, minus a slight hiccup every now and then. "...I'm j-just..." She paused, unable to find the right words for a moment. "A-A bit r-relieved, I g-guess," she finished.

 

Ashen nodded at that with a slight smirk. "I don't have much to bet, but I'd give them three minutes," he responded in a whisper. He paused, smirk widening, and turned around to face the snake. "And I'll give us about ten seconds," he added, before pressing his lips to Xipilli's. He drew away after a second, his smirk reappearing within seconds, and turned back around to watch Ryu and Rose. He had been meaning to do that ever since the snake kissed him first.

[AroaraAngelwolf]

Ryu caught her and pulled her close to him, cradling her against his chest. He carefully wipes away her tears with the backs of his fingers to not scratch her with his claws. "I'm fine sweet flower... hush... hush...." He murmurs to her smoothing her hair. "Nothing will touch you while I am your guardian..... "

 

 

 

 

Xipilli managed to get out a small smile and a curious "Oh?" Before giggling as the fox kissed him and he was broadly grinning as he looks back at the human and Dragon counting the seconds so he can keep track of time. It's been one and a half so far.

[Nanashi]

Aaand cue the crying again. Not that Rose could help it. She was surprised she even managed this long, honestly. But the sobs were quiet now, almost silent little things that shook her shoulders as her tears slid down her cheeks. A silly thought came to mind, distracting her a bit- he claimed that 'nothing would touch her', but he was touching her right now, wasn't he? Not that she minded. It was just a small distraction from her sadness, and so she focused on it a bit, as it helped her calm down a bit with the strangeness of it.

 

Ashen's smirk only grew wider when he heard Xipilli giggling. While this definitely was not his original plan, it'd at least be amusing to see how this would play out. And maybe he did have a bit of attachment to the snake. ...He'd just have to wait and see if this would actually go anywhere before even thinking of mentioning it.

 

Llyr, meanwhile, was ignoring Ashen and Xipilli betting on how much longer until Ryu and Rose kissed, along with the two kissing. This was none of his business, and he had no interest in it being his business anyways. Instead, he picked Mosi back up carefully, and waited for the dragon and the human to be ready to move.

[AroaraAngelwolf]

Ryu swayed holding her tight. "I know this is hard for you.... I'm here, I'm here.... you are very brave sweet flower... very brave ...I got you... I'll protect you, hush...." He hummed a song softly as he looks at Llyr nodding for them to move on. He floated above the others holding her against him, wiping her tears away. He continues to hold her even when she stopped crying.

 

 

 

Xipilli being the romantic giggled at Ryu's protective curls around the woman. He hung back with ashen.

[Nanashi]

Llyr began walking as soon as Ryu nodded, not completely waiting for the others. Not like he ever actually did previously. ...Well, actually, he was pretty sure he did one time, though he didn't exactly wait for the fox. With good reason, though. The kitsune could catch up quickly enough, and besides, he tended to be more trouble than he was worth. If they accidentally left him behind, then at least they'd be free from his... Him in general, actually.

 

Rose, eventually, managed to stop her tears. She was glad that Ryu didn't put her down, because she wasn't sure if her legs could hold her up all that well right now. She knew that she could stand and everything, but... She'd rather not be tripping over stuff. Especially considering that if she did, and ended up injuring herself or something, her blood would lure creatures. And seeing as their group was made up by an unconscious shifter, a reaper who could apparently actually get mad, a kitsune who likely cared more for entertainment than actually helping them out, a snake who had already been hurt a lot, a dragon that just finished a fight and was still partially injured, and a human that had little to no idea what she was doing. Yeah, they didn't need too many more encounters. Or any at all.

 

"Looks like we might both lose the bet," Ashen noted as they began moving again. "Well, they're no fun." The fox huffed, though he didn't pull anything that he did last time again. As tempting as that was. "...Hmm. Everyone else seems to be reuniting with long-lost... Enemies and lovers, down here. Wonder if I'll see one of my old 'friends," he mumbled to himself. ...Maybe it wasn't best to mention that now, considering the current state of their group, but the fox wasn't one to filter his thoughts and words that often. Which was rather obvious.

[AroaraAngelwolf]

Ryu sighed, his breath ruffling her hair. "Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have told you what Devorin had said until I've known you for about a year and a half...." He looked at her. "I suppose you have questions about what I'm talking about, or perhaps you already know. There isn't much to do but talk down here so go ahead and ask. Asian lungs are held to honesty while our brutish European cousins are..... less estimable...on such morals..."

 

 

 

Xipilli nodded and took off his necklace, a broad beaten gold piece like you might see on the Egyptian pharaohs of old and ....began rearranging the gems like one of those slider puzzles. "Let's hope not... although... the air tastes cleaner, we may be getting close. You know, if we can't find who did these crimes, we can try to prove our innocence. I have records and recordings that place me at my flower shop when........ Mosi has several witnesses and video for her. Did you pull pranks on anyone on the day your friend was poisoned?" He asked.

[Nanashi]

Rose paused, thinking. Although she had a guess on what Devorin meant, she wanted to make sure she was right and not just assuming things. "...What e-e-exactly did he mean b-by 'permanent b-bond'? Just to be... Sure," she asked after a second. She hesitated before asking something else as well. "Also, h-how did you know h-him? I-If you don't m-mind me asking." It wasn't likely a question that Ryu expected, but she was a bit curious. After all, she didn't know much at all about most of their group. Or, at least, she knew a bit about them all, but pasts was a topic that they all had seemed to avoid a bit.

 

"Does making someone think leaves and rocks were money count?" The fox paused, realizing how that could be taken. "...In my defense, they were rich and full of themselves. I mean, past experience says they'd still arrest me for that, but it's better than leading them far away from any civilization," the fox added. "...And as fun as breaking out of jail is, the last time I did that, someone actually had to bail me out- believe it or not, I have friends that will- and I had to pay them back. And they didn't want money." His ears flicked back at the memory. "...Besides, any kitsune could do that. It wasn't as if I was in this form at the time." He chuckled. "It wouldn't work, anyways. It was what I gave her that was poisoned, after all, and it was indeed me who gave her that, though I didn't mean for it to be poisonous. I'll just ask some of the bakers about it." The way that he said 'ask' implied that he was likely going to be threatening them more than actually asking.

[AroaraAngelwolf]

Ryu was indeed caught off guard by her second question, but answering the one he had prepared for first. "Dragons like wolves and swans are monogamous, some shifter beasts are as well. You see, we split relationships into three separate sections. Humans and some others have husbands and wives; this is viewed as just a contract between two people and the families, but it doesn't stop them from cheating or harming each other, and they could be split apart by terminating said contract.

 

Then there's mates like some animals and monsters; this is a bond connecting two by flesh and blood, and prevents either one from hurting the other or cheating. This can only be split by death, although to the one remaining feels like a part of them are missing. how one tells they are mates with another is by skin contact with another. Some people think it ends there but....

 

Dragon's go one step further. Not many know about the Permanent Bond because not many know that dragons have a small bit of their soul missing. Eastern dragons are more of a romantic then the western brutes who simply ignore that pull. This pull is a connection between souls. You see, once we even get a whiff of our Bond's scent we search and search until we find them. Though sometimes we have to wait years and years for our soul half, sometimes we never do find them.

 

Under normal circumstances, I would've been a frequent visitor of your little place, getting to know you little by little until about three months has passed before asking you out, date for some time before telling you about this bond. You see, it doesn't always work walking up to someone saying "Hey, You're the lost half of my soul, and are my bond, come do this ritual that completes both of us!" This ritual mends two souls together and is only properly sealed if the dragon's bond is willing. Once this is preformed we would get a stronger sense of each other like, I will know if you are in danger, you'd know if I'm saddened or irritated by something... not only that, but for mortals, it gives you youth and longevity, and me mortality. If you die I die if I die..... ... I think you get it... this exists even if we haven't met. That incident where you almost died then wasn't supposed to... it was probably your connection to me that determined that. " He paused in case she has any more questions wanting to answer the ones about this sensitive subject first before moving on to her other question.

 

 

"I'm sure you'll convince them to tell the truth, if not I can swallow them ... it always seems to work."

Edited January 27, 2016 by AroaraAngelwolf

[Nanashi]

((THAT'S ADORABLE! Also no "oh hey I'm going to die before you" talks are needed for those two now! Yay!))

 

Rose... Was not quite expecting that. Her face turned a shade of pink. "W-Wait, s-so..." She didn't finish that. ...It was sort of cute to imagine that, though. She half-wondered if the type of 'soul' Ryu was talking about was the kind that Llyr saw, and if Llyr knew about this or not. Well, it was easier to ask than to wonder, right? "...The kind of souls that Llyr sees, or a different type?" She realized that Ryu might not know it, as dragons probably couldn't see them, but it was worth asking.

 

Ashen stared at Xipilli in silence for a moment, slightly awestruck. "Where have you been all my life," he said after a moment. "Trick question, you weren't alive for most of it. But the point still stands." The fox smirked at his own sort-of joke.

 

((Couldn't think of much else to write.))

[AroaraAngelwolf]

((Nope! Just "Where can we get a large casket to be placed in together?" It also covered why he was so protective over her from the beginning. ))

 

Ryu tilted his head. "We essentially have two souls. The Hun, and the Po. The hun soul is what makes us... us... our personality, our will, our body.. the Yang soul or heavenly soul. This could leave our body when we die... if that's the one he sees then Yes, it would have a dark spot within it. The Po is the animal spirit, earthly and the yin. This one he could possibly see as well, but can't take otherwise it would be too powerful for a reaper and overwhelm their system. I don't know if he can though. Sooo..... to sum things up, you are quite literally my soul mate and the one to complete me." He looked at her gauging her reaction until speaking again. "As for Devorin.... I did not know him. He was cast in here when it was first created by my mother who is on the council. He is three thousand years her senior and my mom is five thousand years senior to the Fox. He had many encounters with my family and.... killed my grandmother to make my grandpa angry... but... he was bonded so the moment she died so did he. Three hundred years my mom and him fought breaking away only before they bled out to recover then resumed. He had a terrible habit of... destroying towns and eating livestock and people. Mother couldn't kill him without killing herself so she locked him in here. I had him by surprise.... I only finished what my mother had started."

 

 

 

The snake nudges him playfully with his scaly hip."Oh? So the Fox who told me "I'm the wrong person to love, I'm warning you to not go there" finds me interesting? Huh.... never thought it would work that way. I'm not entirely shy... I play tricks too. One time I put the blue die stuff only washable kind in the money they put in the big armored trucks to go to the bank... and the driver of the truck opened the bag when I told him I might have dropped my keys in there and poof! He became a smerf! He thought it was hilarious!" Xipilli grinned and kept toying with his necklace.

Edited January 27, 2016 by AroaraAngelwolf

[Nanashi]

Rose was still a bit overwhelmed by all of this new information- it explained a lot, actually, but while she as very accepting of new things, she was also not used to this much at once- but she could handle it, so she nodded for him to continue. The story behind how he knew of Devorin made sense, at least. "...Well... I'm s-sure she might be relieved to find out that h-h-he's gone, maybe. ...If only because h-he can't escape this p-place at all, now," she said. "It's... Too bad that h-he, um, h-h-he turned out like that, though..." Alright, now she was just sort of rambling. She shut her mouth before anything else could get out for a few seconds, before speaking again. "W-Wait, so, back w-when I had, um, h-health p-problems, if the surgery wouldn't have worked, t-then you could have died, a-as well?!" she suddenly asked, her eyes widening. "O-Or am I misunderstanding something...?"

 

"'Interesting' isn't quite the same as 'a suitable partner'. I find plenty of things interesting, after all, and I'd still advise you not to get tangled up in me. It seems it's too late for that, though, and you won't listen anyways," Ashen said. "Good one. Though, you still have work before you're anywhere near my level. ...Likely because I've been doing this ever since I turned out to be a yokai instead of your average fox." He shrugged, tails swishing, and smirked at the snake, placing a hand on one of his shoulders, managing to change his expression to a completely serious one. "You have great potential. I probably won't be around to see it, but still." He managed to keep a straight face for about three seconds before bursting into laughter, withdrawing his hand.

[AroaraAngelwolf]

"We haven't done the ritual, therefore our souls aren't entirely sealed. Only after they are would that happen. But.... hmmm.... when exactly where you near death? I remember in a daze I felt so ill I stayed home for a long while. I remember it being odd, for dragons don't get viruses and such.... it may have been that. " He spoke softly, and more confidently now this was addressed. It was the reason he was so awkward and clumsy was that this was a private matter and didn't want to slip up so soon.

 

 

 

Xipilli in return took his hand in just as serious tone he asked him: "Oh make me your padiwan great master! I have so much to learn about the Force of Trickery from you!" but unlike the Fox, he managed to keep his strait face for two minutes before bursting into laughter, sounding like a hissing hyena.

[Nanashi]

"The worst of it w-was about... T-Three years ago, I guess?" Rose replied. "...Yeah, three years s-sounds about right." She nodded slightly. "It's a r-rather good thing t-that they weren't back then if t-that's the case. I probably would h-have been more worried f-for your life than for m-mine," she said sheepishly. "And if I would have..." She trailed off, not wanting to finish that thought. She decided to change the subject a bit. "I... I'm glad you t-told me. ...It's k-kind of nice t-to think about," she admitted, averting her gaze. "A-And it explains quite a bit," she added on, much quieter.

 

"A-Alright, maybe I need to give you more, heh, credit, deshi. Or would you prefer discípulo?" Ashen asked with a smirk, having recovered. "Either way, I underestimated you. If only by a bit." An idea came to mind, and his smirk widened. "...In fact... I might need your skills later on. Or soon, maybe; We'll have to wait and see."

 

((Both mean 'disciple'.))

 

...Meanwhile, Llyr was honestly questioning the kitsune and the naga. He soon decided it was useless trying to figure it out, though, and focused on trying to find the exit to this place instead. At least the fox wasn't bothering anyone this time.

[AroaraAngelwolf]

((When will they get out?))

 

Ryu placed a claw on her lips, shushing her. "I would've been 16 or 17 then. Hmmm. I had to take time off of college for two months then. And sweet flower, if we were bonded, illness never would have gotten to you. So... you think it... nice? Does..... that mean you accept me? " He said softly.

 

 

Xipilli grinned. "Oh the second one is in my tongue but the first one is more catchy. You must let me in on this plan when we stop again." He rubbed his hands together.

[Nanashi]

((Soon; I'd give them another break before leaving, though, just so that they're ready once they're up.))

 

Rose's face was, once more, red at his question. "A-Ah, well, um..." That was a bunch of nothing. "...Yes." And that was an answer. Though there was no real reason to be embarrassed- they were soulmates, after all, as Ryu said, and seeing as he had to tell her all of that, he was the one who should be embarrassed if anyone- she was, anyways. Although, in her defense, it wasn't every day that it was revealed you were literally a part missing from someone else's soul.

 

"Sounds like a plan," Ashen stated, smirking all the while. "Ah, I haven't had someone helping me with a prank like this for a looong time! This is going to be fun."