An Unexpected Meeting [Private/Rihz, Imperia]

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The feeling of the surprisingly warm wind brushing past her brought a wide smile to her face, which broadened further as she anticipated the majesty of the library. Having grown bored of the books in the library closest to her home, she had decided to pay a visit to the library in the Twilight Palace, rumoured to be several storeys high and filled with books containing all types of books. Caramina had successfully emerged unharmed from the Tempest Ring - she did have her wind shields, but still, her heart kind of died each time she entered the Tempest Ring and braved its storms. Putting that behind her, she let anticipation wash over her the way the warm wind was currently doing, and hoped that the library wouldn't disappoint her.

A few minutes later, she was in the palace, feathered wings neatly folded by her side as she walked through brightly lit corridors, whose floors were tiled with simply decorated white marble tiles, gleaming brightly in the sunlight, which poured from the numerous windows dotting the cream-coloured wallpaper. It was obvious that this place was well-maintained, and Caramina's high hopes for the library rose even further. Eventually she came upon the library, her way blocked by a massive wooden door; like the floor, it gleamed, and Caramina was positive she could see a bit of her reflection in it. Shaking her head at the cleanliness of her surroundings, she pushed the door open, which swung away to reveal a massive room.

Caramina was not disappointed as she stared around at the shelves; the sight of row upon row of books of all shapes, sizes and colour, contained in tall, elegantly built shielves, awaited her, and she sucked in a gasp. Eventually her gaze, forcefully torn away from the beautiful sight of books, wandered over to the single occupant in the room - two, she corrected herself, as her gaze passed over to a dark lump in the corner. She'd greet him, or her, later -, sitting on a plush, mauve-coloured cushion, a worn book clutched in her hands. Imperia. Caramina made her way over, bowing her head in greetings. "Hello~" she greeted warmly, unable to resist adding,"This place is wonderful, it's like heaven to me. Do you come here often?"

"Mmm, lamb! Hadn't had that for ages," Caramina responded, some enthusiasm easing into her voice as she pictured the meal waiting for her, but Imperia's question drew her attention back to Rihzome - or more precisely, the gemstone that had briefly appeared before being pocketed by its owner. Caramina had noticed the little dark stone, a small circular piece that glittered and sparkled, reflecting the light that shone onto it, but hadn't taken much interest in it, her mind skipping past the details of the gemstone to the parchment. Only when Imperia asked the question did she start to genuinely think about, but remained silent, preferring not to ask, but a hint of an amused smile touched her lips when she saw the faintest of colours slide into his cheeks, tinging them crimson. She'd have asked more, but decided to let the topic drop, and said, "Thanks, by the way. For the map." She herself was carrying a satchel, and she folded the frayed paper gently into a small square, the crinkling noises it produced as it folded pleasant to hear, before she placed it into her satchel. "Shall we go now? I'm starving - and I'm sure Rihz is too," she said, the nickname she already had in mind for Rihzome slipping out, and she pretended not to notice.

Imperia, sadly, had to crush their dreams. "It was lamb for dinner last night. Tonight is beef, although there may be a few sheep left over."
Imperia accepted the comment about making friends silently at first, and frowned at his dismissal of the gem, but as soon as Caramina came out with one of her favourite pet names for Rihzome she began to grin wickedly again.
"She's using one of the names that your closest friends call you, I'd say that you're not half bad at making new friends either, Rihz." She stepped up beside Rihzome and bumped him with her hip playfully as they walked to the eating areas.
She wasn't done with the topic of the crystal either, and so she smoothly switched to questioning him about that as well, hoping to take full advantage of the embarrassment she knew she was causing him. He was cute when he blushed, as if she needed another reason to be a tease."Oddities are interesting, hence my interest in you! Come on, we'd both just loooovvvveeee to see the gem again~ What is it?"
She shot a consipratory smile at Caramina. She wasn't trying to create a dynamic of the two females against the male, but she was trying to get Caramina deeper into the conversation.

Nodding in agreement with Caramina, Rihzome began to walk off, next to Caramina, rude to walk ahead, and pointless to walk behind, just in case she did get lost. "Lamb… Last night?" He asked after a few moments, as he turned his head to Imperia while still walking, before shrugging. "Ah. I guess I just heard wrong. I missed dinner last night, and I guess I must have overhead someone talking about last night's food… I'm sorry Caramina. But, as Imperia said, hopefully there is a few sheep left… As for Rihz… Well, it makes sense, does it not? Like calling our friend here Cara, or you Imp…" He said matter-of-factly, unable to keep the small blush from his maw, both hating and liking the pet name.

The blush quickly worsened as Imperia mentioned the gem again. "I told you… It's nothing. Just a… really nice looking stone I liked." He told them, failing to mention it's rarity or worth, nor who it was for. "I just traded a couple of things for it, petty objects, and this was my payment." He continued. "As I said, mostly worthless, and all but meaningless. I have a few nice diamonds if you'd rather look at them though, and a few nice opals."

Caramina shrugged, saying, "Don't really mind if it's lamb or beef; I'm fine with either. Just as long as there's something to eat, and that something is meat, I'm fine. Rihzome did seem a bit scatterbrained," she said suddenly, a curious expression slipping into her face as she glanced at him, "and he lost track of time pretty easily. I wonder what book he was reading, to pull him in so deeply?" Then, hearing Imperia's words, Caramina, unable to hold herself back from doing so, chimed in, a teasing tone easing into her voice: "I find oddities interesting too, perhaps you could show us the gem and satisfy our curiosity? Your Majesty Imperia does seem quite eager to see it; and so am I." She returned Imperia's smile with one of her own, trying to convey through her eyes her gratitude at Imperia's effort to include her in their conversation. Having noticed the faint blush on Rihzome's cheeks, she decided to tease him further. "Who's the gemstone for?" she teased. A really random guess, but still it was a try.

Imperia let the matter of dinner go, but as soon as Caramina mentioned the book her curiosity was renewed.
"He is a bit scatterbrained, it's true; although I'm just as bad. But you've got an excellent point, dear, and I too am most interested to know what book he was reading." She glanced inquisitively at Rihzome, although in the back of her mind she was also playing with ideas of how to turn her teasing towards Caramina as well, the other dragoness was adorable, and Imperia looked forwards to trying to make her blush.
"You can both call me Imp or Impy, by the way. It's not terrible as far as pet names go."

Imperia almost purred, seeing the appreciation in Caramina's glance over at her. She flashed a smile at her, letting her know that she'd seen.
"Oh yes, I adore gemstones. It must be worth looking at..." She trailed off as Caramina asked who it was for, Imperia didn't repeat the question; but the wicked, playful, gleam of excitement in her eyes was probably a clear message that she was interested in the answer.

Blushing even further at the mention of the book he had been reading, Rihzome shuffled his satchel around, holding it firmly nestled under his wing. "The book was… A journal on flora and fauna of the territory of the Xoya. An interesting book, nothing too good though, quite dry really. I was just reading up for an expedition I'm planning." He replied, after a brief pause, thinking back to the book he had forced himself to be read a few weeks prior. Broken out of this thought, and almost tripping over his own paws as they continued to ask and talk about the gemstone had had, and who it was for, he was glad to see the kitchen approaching ahead of them. Untactfully changing the topic, embarrassed to no end by the topic and the prying of the two females, he quickened his pace a little and pushed open the doors to the kitchen, or rather, the dining hall, which the kitchens were connected to. "Ah! Here we are." He said, not so much ignoring as unwilling to answer, knowing answering either questions would supply, at least Imperia, with a wealth of ammunition to embarrass and tease him further.

"Imp," Caramina echoed, a soft chuckle slipping out between her lips in an exhale of breath. "It makes you sound mischievous, which you are to Rihzome, I suppose, with all those questions. No offence intended; you're as regal as an imp Queen could be. A wink followed her words, directed at Imperia, then she turned her attention back to Rihzome. Amusement slipped away, curiosity once again taking its place at the mention of the book Rihzome was reading earlier, one that had pulled him in so deeply that he'd missed lunch. "Hm? And why Xoya?" she prodded.

A knowing smirk unfolded on her face, knowing that Rihzome was deliberately changing the topic, but she let it drop, deciding to poke him for answers later on, hopefully with Imperia by her side. Goal: Make Rihzome choke on his food. It'd be quite a hilarious sight, to see the strangely graceful yet large male to choke on his food. But a delicious scent wafting from somewhere - probably the kitchens- tugged her eyes towards their destination, and her eyes widened, taking in the massive room, probably just as large as the library was. "Everything in this place is so big," Caramina couldn't help saying, trying to conceal her awe. Large rectangular tables, made out of dark gleaming wood that shone, occupied most of the space, their legs carved into delicate swirls at the ends, pressing into the beige marble floor. The arched ceiling was held up by pillars - actual pillars, and light emanated from the gems. "Quite fancy for a dining room..."

"A regal Imp queen indeed, that sounds like me. And it is very fancy, isn't it? I love this place."
Imperia curtsied gracefully in appreciation, then flicked her tail and danced her way into the dining room. She walked backwards to the dragon who served food, continuing the conversation and beckoning Caramina and Rihzome to follow.
"Rihzome dear, you're not a good liar. Don't think that you've gotten away with this. Cara, please do take a cushion; I'll get you your food. You still want lamb if it's available? Rihz, you too, I'll get your food. I owe you at least a small kindness to balance out for my behaviour!"
There were a few chairs, to accommodate for the preferences of some dragons, but the vast majority of the tables were low and surrounded by squishy cushions.

Glaring at Imperia’s back as she walked towards the kitchens, he cast the glare to Caramina, before it softened, inclining his head to her. “Thank you for the compliment. It’s part of our nature, somewhat of a weakness, but really… Why settle for subpar? Fancifulness and grandeur is what our kind lives for!”  He exclaimed, before chuckling. “But I understand… I remember walking into this room for the first time and mimicking your exact response. Sure beats a cave in the middle of a war zone…” He muttered the final part under a breath, before frowning. "I’ve been a horrible host!” He almost wailed, as he quickly dashed over to Caramina and pulled out several large cushions and fluffed them, gesturing for Cara to sit. “Please, sit down. Relax. I can’t imagine how tired you must be after your trip here…”

“Tell me… Your ‘remote area’… Where do you hail from?” Rihzome asked her, sitting on his haunches, his tail curling around his paws as he took of his satchel and set it carefully to the ground, on the side next to the silver scaled dragoness. “I remember back home, my father helped out in the local library almost constantly, a scholar, like myself. Not full time of course, he did have other… Callings, but whenever he could, he would be covered in books…” He let out a low and fond chuckle, before shaking his head. “I haven’t seen either of my parents in… ooh. Four? Five hundred years?” The chuckling morphing into a sigh, he hung his head. “Apparently, I even have a sister! That was the last thing I ever heard from them…” He said sadly, teetering on the edge of saying more, before clamping his maw shut with a small snap. “But you probably don’t care about that. A dark and dreary story, for a dark and dreary day. For now, we have a new family member! So, where are you from?”

"I'm fine with anything," Caramina said."I wouldn't be able to decide on one anyway, as both sound equally delicious and if you left the choice to me, I'd probably eat the whole kitchen, meat, cooking pan and all." She chuckled to show that she was kidding, though it was quite... obvious that she was, but the real reason why she didn't want to make the choice was because, like she said to Imperia, she wouldn't have been able able to decide on one. Additionally, it would reflect poorly on her should she go for both. She moved towards the cushions, but Rihzome got there first, wailing about about being a bad host as he grabbed several cushions and fluffed them up. "It's perfectly fine," Caramina said soothingly, nodding her thanks before plopping down onto one of the seats. "You're not too bad a host, I've met worse."

Caramina, unlike Rihzome, did not take off her satchel; she rarely took it off while outside, not seeing a need to do so. After all, it wasn't that heavy, and she might forget all about it and leave it there. "Remote area? Oh, it's actually not that far. Maybe ten or fifteen minutes' worth of flying to get to the Tempest Ring. I can manage it, plus I like flying, so not much of a problem." Hearing Rihzome's words, she 'oh!'ed in surprise.

"My dad was a Scholar too! And like yours, he loved books. I remember that he was usually found in the library, reading books on all sorts of things, but only when he was not busy with other jobs," Caramina said, a wistful smile crossing her face. It was quite obvious that she longed to see them again, but couldn't, for some personal reason.

"A younger sister? Oooh, that's cool, what's her name? Come to think of it, I had an older brother too. He left us at the age of...two hundred and thirty-seven, if I remember correctly. My parents said that he was killed in battle - he was a soldier you see - but I don't believe it. I don't want to believe it, actually ... and I'm still looking for him. I can't remember his name or his exact appearance as my parents tried to wipe my meory, but I know his name started with a R. Like yours." Again, that wistful smile. "I apologise for rambling..."

Hearing his question, she didn't reply for a few moments, choosing to stare at the ground, then finally lifted her eyes to meet Rihzome's gaze. "Xoya," she said quietly, then added hastily, "Please, please don't let that change how you see me..."

Imperia used some of her wind magic, subtly looping it around Cara and Rihz in order to bring their words to her clearly. She tended not to tell dragons she had this ability to eavesdrop on conversations, but if they looked for it then either of them could probably notice what she was doing.
It wasn't technically eavesdropping, though, as she was a part of this conversation. Still, she was content to just listen as she went and got meals for the three of them.

They were totally brother and sister, Imperia was instantly certain, and she would continue to feel that way until someone proved her wrong.
No need to mention that, though, she'd keep the idea to herself unless it looked like a good time to suggest it.

She got two plates of beef and one of lamb, the last of the lamb, and began to wander back to the table. She heard Cara quietly say she was Xoyan, even though she was too far away to have heard it naturally, and she couldn't help but speak up.
"Any dragon to think badly of another simply because of her tribe will regret it, I'll make sure of that!"
She managed to sound surprisingly intimidating, given her small size and figure, but the appearance of being threatening vanished a moment later when she got to the table and gracefully served them their meals.
"But no Stormcaller would do such a thing, so you needn't worry too much. Rihz, the lamb can be yours, but the chances of me stealing a few pieces over lunch are literally guaranteed. Cara, you feel free to steal his food as well."
She giggled and joined them at the table, lazily spreading herself out; her head next to Caramina's and her tail stretched out towards Rihzome, almost touching his paws.

Letting out a small ‘huh’, Rihzome smiled at Caramina. Of course, he had no qualms with those from the Xoya… more so the Xoya as a whole. “I wish I could help you, I really could, but I don’t recall that many other R named dragons… There were a few, Ragnarok, Ragnar, Reave… But as far as I can remember, they either had no siblings or didn’t die in battle. Sorry I can’t really help you with your search…” He murmured quietly. Truth be told, he had tried to find his sister, but without stepping foot in Xoyan territory… it had been next to impossible. “No, no! It’s fine. I enjoy rambling. I love listening to the sound of other people’s voices… Especially when they’re as entrancing as yours.” He flashed her a grin at this.

The grin disappeared as Rihzome yelped in alarm, Imperia’s voice carrying to them from much too far away. “HOW MUCH DID YOU HEAR OF THAT?” He practically yelled. By the goddess, if she had heard him compliment Caramina… he was a dead drake. She wouldn’t let it drop, and it would just be a source of even more teasing. Breathing heavily, startled, he just sat there stoically, before sliding the lamb over to Caramina and taking her beef one instead, as he watched Imperia out of the corner of his eye. “I really do hate your tricks sometimes…” He growled quietly, shadows whipping around his paw before forming into a small ball, which he promptly flicked at her, even as he stretched out, taking up an entire side of the long table to himself.

Caramina frowned. "Raeve? That name's pretty familiar...I think my brother mentioned him once or twice. Funny that you knew him as well. Who was he?" she asked. Pink tinged her cheeks when she heard Rihzome's compliment, announcing her embarrassment, and she ducked her head, eyelids lowering to veil her eyes. "Thank you," she murmured shyly, but all thoughts were wiped away when Imperia announced her presence, and she glanced up, breaking into a smile at the sight of food. Her stomach seemed to grumble in greetings, probably getting ready to receive that delicious-looking slab of cooked meat and digest it. She pretended not to have said anything about where she came from, but Imperia still had heard it anyway, and, hearing what she said, Caramina shot her a small smile, gratitude shining in her bright green eyes.

"Thank you, no one has ever stood up for me like that before...except for my brother," she said quietly, turning her gaze away, towards her food, for tears - she missed her brother so much...and at the same time was touched by what Imperia said - had rushed to her eyes, forming a layer of water that would likely break and flow down her cheek if she blinked. She kept her eyes down, fixed on the food, murmuring a thank you to Imperia before digging in hungrily, stabbing her fork into the delicious-smelling meat and tearing it away before shoving it into her mouth, blinking rapidly in an attempt to clear her tears away. When it was done, she looked up, only to see Rihzome fling a ball of shadows at Imperia. "Oh my," she giggled, taking another bite of her food and watching the two in amusement

Imperia gave Rihzome a wicked grin. "Oh I didn't want to miss even a single moment of your entrancing voices, I heard everything you two said! I do have to agree, though, Cara does have a gorgeous voice, and is gorgeous in general."
Imperia glanced at the other dragoness and faltered as she suddenly realised how emotional she was. She panicked for about a second, blaming herself and fearing that she'd teased her new friend too much. However after a moment she thought more rationally, seeing that Caramina's feelings were at least mostly gratitude. That was a relief.
"I'd hate my tricks too, if they weren't mine. Probably. Actually I think I'd love them still; because they're just too much fun!" She took a slightly less playful tone as she smiled again at Caramina. "That's just what friends are for. Well, it's one of the jobs, other jobs include being highly entertaining."
Naturally it was at that moment when Imperia turned to look at Rihzome again, just in time to see him throw his shadows. Imperia could have dodged the attack without a great deal of difficulty, but due to a combination of arrogance, silliness and trust she simply stared at it. She had no idea if it would hurt, but she was perfectly confident that Rihzome wouldn't have used a really dangerous attack. "Uh oh..."
It hit her in the face.

With a soft squelch, the shadowy ball popped upon hitting Imperia’s snout. Instantly, a wave of almost liquid shadows spilled forth, covering her snout and face, extremely sticky, tasteless and non-harmful, but extremely annoying. Smirking and sticking his tongue out at her, Rihzome turned his head to Caramina. “Reave was… Kind of a brute, honestly, from what I can remember. Tall, dark and handsome was his thing, but he always had a soft spot for art. You wouldn’t tag him as a soldier, but on the battlefield… I… I think I’ll save this for when you’re NOT eating…” He muttered, as he used his talons to slice a chunk of beef off and popping it into his maw, chewing for a few moments before looking back up. He had heard the smallest… tremor in Caramina’s voice, one that resonated strongly in his own heart. He knew what it was like to be alone, without anyone… Shuffling around, he curled up closer to Caramina, his tail curling around comfortingly. “Stormcallers always look out for their own…” He said quietly, smiling at her.