Tribe Life? [Private Hyruu/Fate]

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Xasheski was trailing through the woods, his head hung low, his steps slow and labored. Man, hunting had just not been going well for him. Not to mention the temperatures had skyrocketed. It had to be at least 90 degrees out right now, and Xash didn’t even live that far down south. He actually lived kind of close to the mountains. Maybe the heat was to blame for the disappearance of so many prey animals? The night fury couldn’t guess, and he didn’t really care. He just wanted food, he thought, with an annoyed sigh.

A thought had occurred to him, though, while he had been out flying. The last time he had been searching for food, he had found a herd of deer farther up north, closer to the Etcan mountains. So maybe, if her flew up farther north to a more alpine forest, he’d be able to find some food again. Of course, this was also a warrant for caution. Two very large tribes lived up north, the Kaamil, and the Vuari. Xasheski had no idea how they treated intruders, so the small night fury would simply try to stay out of their way as long as possible, avoiding their territory markers as best he could.

Groaning a bit, the small night fury would spread his wings, looking up at the sky. It appeared to be just around noon, or just before noon, judging on where the sun was positioned. With a quick stretch, spreading his legs and wings out to help loosen his muscles, the young black dragon would launch himself into the sky. At first, flying was a bit awkward, due to his hunger, but after a while, he started to get the hang of it. He would swiftly soar through the sky, twisting and turning, enjoying the air as it would begin to bite his scales, as he would approach colder climates.

After a while of flying, Xash would spot some pine trees. The temperature had dropped to a good 70 degrees, so it was more enjoyable. He would start to fly over the forest, scanning the ground for any prey items. He was pretty sure he wasn’t in Vuari territory, as he could still only see the Etcan mountains in the distance, but he had to keep his guard up. If he smelled anything unfamiliar, at least if it was another dragon’s territory, then he would instantly turn back. He was too hungry for a fight, after all.

Hyruu chuckled as Xasheski started to blush and protest at the mention of him having a lover. But when he stated the reason of his former smile, the grey dragon raised an eyebrow, not sure to have really understood what the smaller dragon meant by that.
"Your... Mother ? Why is that?" he simply asked back, tilting his head.
The grey dragon still kept Xasheski's previous reaction in mind. He had protested quite violently when Hyruu had mentioned the Xoyan... What could possibly cause such a young drake to be so fearful of the Tribe he visibly did live in? It was curious how Xash seemed to be used talking Xoyan yet probably lived alone for a while. Did he flee his former Tribe? Did something force him to leave? Those were questions he'd try to ask, but he needed a way not to make the smaller dragon panic.

"It's a... a long story. Let's just say I'm not welcome on Shveki anymore..." he'd explain, tilting his head a bit downward. The thought of it made him uncomfortable. It wasn't exactly something he enjoyed being reminded about. It brought back quite a collection of painful memories. He'd fold his wings tightly against his back, and shift his sitting position a bit, squaring up his shoulders from nervousness.

(Short post is short)

Hyruu blinked, surprised by Xasheski's words. When the smaller dragon had mentioned his mother, he didn't expect a bitter reaction like this. Slightly lowering his head as well, he listened as he mentioned not being welcome anymore on the continent.
"So... You didn't chose to be a rogue? You had to flee here, and that's why you were so cautious among other dragons?" Hyruu guessed.
If that was true, it wasn't an happy story for the small drake. But what could have happened for him to be expelled? Xasheski didn't look like someone that would have made smelting worth being banned for...

"Well.... no. It's a long story. A story I'd r-rather not discuss...." he'd say stubbornly. He didn't exactly like being reminded of what happened all those years ago. He shivered, scooting away from Hyruu a bit. He was still hurt, so he didn't exactly want to leave the spot he was sitting, but at the same token, he didn't want to keep sitting here and discussing things he had had no power over.

Hesitantly, Xasheski would tear off a piece of meat from his own catch, offering it to Hyruu, "Would you like some?" he asked.

Hyruu nodded as Xasheski openly refused to talk about what happened. This was mere curiosity from his part as it wasn't his job to ask other dragons about their lives. If he didn't want to talk about it the best Hyruu could was to respect that decision.
"That's alright. I shouldn't have pushed on the topic." the grey dragon apologized.
But he raised an eyebrow when the smaller dragon cut a chunk of meat from his prey and offered it to him. This was rather unexpected. The grey dragon shook his head, politely refusing the gift.
"No, you'll need that meat more than I do. I already ate this morning, my prey will go to the Tribe." he smiled at the smaller dragon.

Xasheski was silently grateful the Vuari dragon had turned him down, and quickly nodded, eating up the piece himself. As soon as he finished it down, he was reminded how hungry he was. And then that, in suit, reminded him of the sudden strange behavior of the local prey animals. It made no sense, after all. Why would all the prey suddenly disappear as it had been? And this was certainly a problem for poor Xash. In a tribe, at least they probably had some sort of backup for if prey ran low....

This made Xasheski curious. After a bit of awkward silence, Xasheski looked back up at Hyruu, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. "So um, I hope it isn't invasive or anything, but I was curious. What has the prey population bee like up here? Is it still... you know, active?" he asked.

He was mostly curious to see if perhaps the Vuari were beginning to experience the same problems with food shortages that the lower altitude forests were.

Hyruu watched Xasheski ate his prey, content with just laying there and relax a bit. Traveling up and down the mountain was tiring, even for himself. The grey dragon was half dozing off when Xasheski spoke, waking him up.
"Uh? Oh, that. Well, ever since that cloud, it's right there have been fewer preys. It's rare that I have to get this low to find some good ones. But... We're used to that I guess. There never has been many preys up there anyway, we complement with fruits and some vegetables. Hopefully there's no shortage of that..." he replied.

It was.... surprisingly peaceful. Even though Xasheski's leg still ached from the injury, and he still felt a bit light headed, it was oddly calming to be able to simply relax while he ate his meal. It wasn't, after all, very often that he could just sit back and immerse himself in tranquility. As he took another bite of his meal, his gaze shifted towards Hyruu. For some strange, inexplicable reason, Xash felt oddly safe around the stranger, even though he had only known him for like 30 minutes, including the time they had spent together when the black cloud had arrived....

The dragon seemed to doze off a bit as Xasheski ate, only perking up a bit when Xash would ask him the question regarding preys. Xash listened courteously, nodding as he spoke. It sounded about right. Life up in the northern north must be pretty hectic. Though.... as a Night Fury, Xash wasn't worried about the high altitudes. His species was adapted to that kind of thing. He was mostly worried about the freezing cold that came with living up here.

He shivered at the thought, taking another bite from his meal. He remained silent for a bit, simply taking small bites of his meal. He wondered though, quietly, if Hyruu would ask him any questions. Xasheski himself had never really been very good at engaging in conversations. At most, she just tended to make things more awkward...

Hyruu left out a wide yawn, and rested his head on his paws. For a meeting with a stranger dragon everything was definitely peaceful. While the other dragon would eat, Hyruu started to doze off, body and muscles relaxed. While he hadn't eaten this one prey, he had eaten the previous one he caught and didn't count on meeting Xasheski... His initial plan was to catch a second prey and take a nap back in the Vuari territory.

Of course he wasn't entirely sleeping, should Xasheski make an odd move he would wake up and react. But the time being, he was feeling fairly safe around the stranger. After all with an injured leg it was unlikely he would attack...
At some point Hyruu woke up, starting to feel the heat being... Well, too warm. The sun was hitting straight on them, and some shadows would have been most welcomed...

"Yawn... Starts getting hot, doesn't it? I'm not used to heat anymore. Especially when there's not much wind." he commented.

For a moment, they remained in silence. After all, what could they talk about? Xasheski, being the awkward nerd he was, wasn't exactly adept for conversation. He didn't know what these older dragons liked to talk about. Not only that, but there was no doubt a cultural difference, as well. What if he accidentally said something offensive to Hyruu? Something unintentionally hurtful? Having lived on Shveki most of his life, Xash had only read about some of Layranese culture, including some bits on Vuari on Kaamil, but nothing really outside of that. He was at a loss for what to discuss, and so they discussed the sweet topic of silence.

Then, after Xasheski had finished about half of his meal, Hyruu finally spoke up. If there was a god, Xasheski certainly would be thanking him for the fact that gruesome silence was over. He turned his head to face Hyruu, who looked like he was just waking up from a nap. Gosh, had he drifted off to sleep just now? The small night fury could never do that around someone he barely knew. Especially not someone from a tribe. It just.... would make him far to uncomfortable.

Hyruu would bring up the heat. Xash blinked, looking up. The heat hadn't even occurred to him, though he supposed it was rather hot. Xasheski, after all, had black scales, and he absorbed much of the sunlight. Hyruu, as well, had hot, heavy fur. But hey, at least it was white. That would help keep him a bit cooler.

"Ah, yeah. It's really been warming up lately. I'm not sure why..." he commented, laying his head on his paws, though his body was still ready to spring into action at a moment's notice.

Hyruu watched at Xasheski casually replied to his comment and laid his head on his paws, but remained alert. The smaller dragon wouldn't fool him on that, while he looked like he was relaxing Xasheski was still ready to act. A behavior Hyruu wouldn't judge, after all he was a rogue and had to remain cautious of all other dragons.
"Maybe we just got used to the colder weather under that cloud... It's not a bad thing it gets warmer though. It was starting to get a bit chilly up the mountain... and by that I mean litterally freezing. I can stand the coldness, but if there can be some warmth under the sun I'm definitely not against it." he half replied, half thought aloud. "You must feel hot with those scales though, don't you?" he asked the smaller dragon.

When Hyruu spoke up, first replying to Xash's question, and then asking his own, Xash flashed him an inquisitive look. Me, hot? What about you? You're covered in fur! That was what Xasheski wanted to say, but he held his tongue, glancing down at his own scales. Well, sure, he didn't have fur, but he did have black scales, which would certainly heat him up a lot more. Considering the question, it sort of made sense. It made him wonder how much torture it would be for someone who was born with black fur. Gosh, that would suck.

"It's not really all that hot. I'm used to humid and hot climates. I lived in Verula for a bit before I came here. And what about you? Aren't you hot in all that fur?" the dragon nonchalantly mentioned. Though, speaking of Verula reminded him of all the pain and aching he had needed to deal with in order to get to Layrian.

Oh well. At least, so far, it had been worth it.

Hyruu noticed the look Xasheski gave him, not needing to read thoughts to understand what the smaller dragon was thinking. It was right that Hyruu was feeling slightly hot, thankfully with the altitude and the small wind that was blowing on this plain it was more than manageable.

The grey dragon listened to Xasheski, nodding at his answer. It was right that he was coming from another continent... This was making Hyruu all the more curious about the smaller dragon's origins. He knew by experience how difficult it was to navigate from one continent to another, and he didn't do it alone...
"Oh, yeah. I do remember it was really warm when I was there... I was a bit more used to heat at that time though. And had shorter fur... But yeah I start feeling a bit hot, though I don't mind from time to time. I sometimes miss feeling really hot... Especially with my mate. She really can't stand warmth. And as much as I tolerate coldness I don't love it..." he chuckled.

"Hmm... is that so...." Xasheski said, his voice barely a mumble. That was really all he could say. He was sort of lost in thought at the moment. What was he thinking about? Mostly his encounter with that dragon Shudaar. He wondered if it would be rude to sit in silence. Xash always assumed that dragons thought it was rude to just remain quiet with a stranger, isn't it better to engage them? Regardless, Xash kept his mouth shut, and instead focused on finishing up the last of his meal in silence.

When his meal had been reduced to a size he could carry somewhere, Xash glanced back down at his leg. Would it support him if he tried to stand? There was only one way to find out. Hesitantly, Xash pushed himself up with his forelimbs, delicately putting pressure on his back leg. At first, it didn't hurt to bad, but when he tried to take a step, he bit his lip out of pain. Yep, still painful.

If only he still had that adrenaline. It hadn't been that noticeable when the wound first occurred, but it had gradually grown more painful. He swished his tail in frustration.

(Sorry, short answer because I don't know what to reply)

Hyruu was getting in a slightly drowsy state while Xasheski was finishing eating up his meal. He got drawn out of it, blinking, when he saw and heard the smaller dragon try to stand up using his broken paw. The grey dragon frowned at the behavior.
"You really shouldn't use this paw for a while. You could make it worse to heal... All it needs is rest. As annoying as it may be..." the grey dragon commented.