A Rainy Afternoon (Open!)

The rain came down in tonnes, pounding against the earth like a griffin's thundering steps. Against the rocks they splattered, against the trees they pummeled, bending the leaves to their will. There were no strong wings, just the cold and the rain. Many creatures had taken shelter for the night, concealing themselves in the darkness of their hollows or the tunnels of their dens. The fox peered out of her little cave, tucked away into the roots of an old oak tree. She dipped back inside, however, when a creature passed her by.


The creature was white in color, standing out like a sore thumb against the green foliage. Soaked through, water dribbled off the end of her snout and dived into the leaves to join their brethren, her feathers pressing against her back from the weight of the rain. It stung, so it did, striking her scales and setting them alight with the burn that usually only came from hailstones.

Glancing up at the darkened sky, Athena let out a soft growl directed at the clouds that turned the heavens black. They resembled coal, lumbering across the sky at the speed of fat snails. To put it simply, they weren't going anywhere for a while.

The mud that formed beneath her talons got stuck in her feet and chilled her to the bone. She may have been made for the cold, but the sensation was still unpleasant. Grunting, Athena swished her tail and kept walking, blue eyes scanning what she could see for shelter.

This is such crap.. shifting her gaze to the sky again, Athena had the urge to curse at the clouds. Instead, she merely grimaced and kept walking -more like wading- through the mud. Letting out a single cough, she trudged up a small hill and glanced around. Nothing but grass and trees. Great.

Sighing, the ice dragon spread her wings, face contorting slightly at the horrid sensation of the heavy water sliding off her hide. Gross.. shaking her head, the dragoness went to leap into the air, considering flying above the clouds in the hopes of getting away from the rain.

Okay, why am I even down here? Katyusha wondered absently to herself, as she would soar through the darkened sky, her snake like body whipping and coiling as she moved herself across the ocean of clouds. She didn’t need to be here, and she didn’t want to. She could very well be back in her kingdom, doing her job. But of course, there was a shortage of food. This was normal, especially high up in the north, but what didn’t make sense about it was the fact that it was also warming up. Shouldn’t all the animals come out when it warms up? It just left everyone super confused.

Katyusha was a policewoman for the Kaamil. Her job was to keep her tribe safe from itself. Hey, sounds like something’s messed up with her tribe when you say it like that. In all honesty, Katyusha never really did anything for her job, because there was never really any internal conflict or trouble. All the outsiders and foreigners were dealt with by patrol guards. Aka, not her job to handle. So, she ended up spending her free time drawing, or hanging out at one of the ice springs or lake Cashra’s.

But she had decided to help assist her tribe a bit more than needed, and agreed to helping some civilians go out and find extra food for the tribe. She was mostly doing this to get food for herself, as she was starving, but helping out the civilians always promised a promotion. She flicked her tail pleasantly. A promotion meant more food and more luxuries. And she could definitely survive getting a little wet for that.

But still, this pelting rain was annoying. On the bright side, she didn’t have wings, and the combination of her soft scales and slender body allowed her to move through the sky much faster and get less wet and less tired. But it was still annoying. Letting out a quiet sigh, the black and turquoise eastern dragoness would fly down to the comfort of a nearby tree, looking back up at the sky. Yep, that didn’t look like it’d subside soon. Oh well. She’d rest here for a bit before continuing her search.

Leaping into the air, Athena flapped her wings and soared upwards, battling the winds that threatened to pull her back down to earth. Growling softly, she shut her eyes as the rain pelted her like stones, making loud splashes each time they connected with her hide. Her wet scales were sore and dripping, and the shadows beneath her eyes had gone an unsightly pink, from heavy droplets smashing against the sensitive skin.

Ugh, curse this rain! she snarled, ducking in an effort to protect her face. As she gazed at the ground, she ascended higher and higher, watching the trees shrink to toy size.


She saw the lightning before it struck her.



SSSS-CRACK!


The first thing she sensed was the world going silent, time slowing down for a few moments. Throwing back her head, Athena let out a soundless shriek, twisting midair. Then, she went limp and fell, eyes closed. Gah, my head.. She thought, not realising what was happening. No longer able to feel the rain pelting her scales, she slowly parted her eyelids. Oh.. Well, I'm going to die.. She had the urge to shrug as the wind hurt her face.

An unfortunate tree stood in her path, leaves dancing furiously to the song of the wind. Shutting her eyes, Athena clenched her teeth and let all tension leave her body. Well, she thought. This is going to hurt..


Bang!

Entering the tree headfirst, Athena crashed through the leaves and snapped the sticks in half as she shot straight through the foliage and out the other side. CRUNCH! She hit the ground, hard, with a force that shook the earth. Oddy enough, she couldnt feel the pain..

As the world faded into darkness, Athena thought she saw a snake-like.. Thing, close by.

(You know, Athy, you’ve gotten a lot better at rp since the last time I saw you.) :)

Katyusha remained under the tree, her eyes partially closed in annoyance. Of course, of all the times to have a terrible storm, the universe had decided to have one just while she was hunting. It hadn’t been this bad when she had first taken off, and started looking for food! Heck, there hadn’t even been a storm back in where she had been hunting in the Kaamil territory. This whole thing was nothing but a bunch of reindeer droppings. Of course mother nature had nothing better to do than make her life more inconvenient, didn’t she? Thought the ice dragoness with a look of annoyance on her face.

And not only that, but the storm had managed to get significantly worse since she had flown down to the rogue lands. When she had first flown into the grasslands and over the tops of the trees, the storm had only been mild. You know, just some rain, and some wind. Now, it seemed as if, as soon as she had taken shelter underneath this wonderful tree, it had gone from a 2 to 10 real quick. Now there were flashes of lightning, and the loud, deafening sounds of thunder in the distance. It made her whole body shiver, though that was probably more from cold than actual fear.

Being caught up in a storm like this definitely didn’t help with Katyusha’s stress levels. Storms like this never happened back up in the Iceillo region. The only storm they ever got up there were blizzards. Katyusha could handle a blizzard. After all, her scales were tough and designed to handle rigorously cold climates. Heck, her scales could probably even withstand hail. It was this terrible lightning that she wouldn’t be able to just power through. And her long, winding body made plenty of room for lightning to strike. All in all to be said about the situation, the whole thing made her awfully nervous.

It really made her uncomfortable, the idea of being caught up in this storm. Who knew how long it would last, after all. She would look around, as rain pelted her snout. All she could see in either direction were a dense covering of trees. And it wasn’t like trees were all that safe when it came to lightning, either. It was like she was in a forest of death. She needed to get out of here, and find a cave, or something. She looked back up at the sky, just in case it the storm had calmed down. Much to her dissatisfaction, the storm still seemed to be going rather strong. Just by looking at the tree tops, she could tell the winds were unusually aggressive. Yeah, anyone who flew in that would have to be either insane or…

Katyusha would temporarily pause in her thoughts, when she noticed something rather out of the ordinary. It appeared…. To be some kind of dragon. Good lord, what on Nuira were they doing out in this weather? She watched them cautiously, mentally screaming for them to get out of the rain. That’s when something terrifying happened. She practically let out a scream of pain when a sudden, painful screech of lightning would rain down from the heavens. Her eyes widened when she watched the other dragon get struck with the lightning.

Then the dragon started falling. Katyusha’s mind began to whirl. What was she do to! She couldn’t just leave them! Oh god, what would she do! She bit her lower lip, wincing mentally, jumping a bit, when she noticed the dragon smack into the tree she was hiding underneath. Her whole body seemed to uncoil in shock, as the limp dragon would fall to the ground, just a couple of feet away from her.

For a moment, Katyusha just stared at the body, her mind whirling. What if the dragon was dead? Silence. Then, Katyusha would swallow her fear and nervousness, and move towards her. She was a cop, after all. This was the kind of thing she had to deal with. Well, she had never actually seen a dead body before, but she had received training. She would approach the body, lifting the dragoness’s arm up, feeling her pulse. The steady thumping made her let out a sigh of relief. Good, she was still alive. Now, the question was, what to do with her? It wasn’t like police training told you what to do when someone was shot with lightning. Katyusha examined the dragoness’s wounds carefully, biting her lip. That looked serious…

She had one idea, though. Katyusha would gently press her hands against the wound, freezing the opening, so as to stop the bleeding, and to help numb the pain. Hopefully that would help...

((Bump @Athena))

(hey! Sorry it took me so long XD)
Thank you, by the way! I'm flattered :D)

Bu-Bump... Bu-Bump..

It took Athena about a minute to realise it was her own heartbeat. She listened to it's gentle tempo, lulled by it into a trance of darkness. Her own breath.. she could hear it.. Slow, slightly unsteady. Such a nice sound..

Slowly, Athena opened her eyes. She was lying on the ground, the wet grass poking her chin. She could see the mountains in the far distance, the sky was coloured an inky black by the clouds above. Unable to hear herself give a soft groan, Athena shifted as she felt her wing arm rise on it's own, a gentle pressure on it. She gingerly turned her head slightly, blinking as she felt something pressing against spot on her side.

Blood.. she could see blood, trickling down her flank like water down a mountainside, leaving striking red marks against the albino white scales. Yet she couldn't feel it.. it was funny, it was as if she was watching through someone else's eyes. Her vision was blurred, so she couldn't make out the face of the one holding her wing.

The pain.. she had to allow it to flood her. She needed to let it wash over her. Shutting her eyes, Athena sought after it, searching for it within the corners of her mind. She began to feel a light pricking on her skin, the rain, and a light throbbing on her sides, back and neck. Her wings were bleeding too, the ends of them in tatters, exposing the thin red veil of flesh to the world.

The throbbing began to get more painful, then, the agony rushed her all at once and Athena had to bite her lip to stop herself from crying out. She could hear again..

Raising her head, Athena bit back a wince as she gazed at the face of the one holding her. Wha.. wha's going' on? Her speech was cut off, rubbery and stuttered. What happened to her voice?

Katyusha observed the icy dragoness with a look of mild concern, eyeing her, and making sure she was still breathing. It was making her heart race, having to act so quickly like that. The dragoness had never been very educated in the arts of healing. She was part of the police force, after all. She continued to stare nervously at the stranger, holding her wing tentatively. God, what if she died? Could Katyusha really live with herself if she watched another dragoness pass away right before her eyes.....

These thoughts sapped from Katyusha's brain when the icy wyvern began to twitch, moaning a bit. This caused Katyusha to instantly drop the wing, taking a step back, her breathing heavy. Had she managed to do it? Did her ditch effort of stopping the blood flow actually work? Of course, there was plenty of internal damage the lightning could have caused.... but Katyusha didn't want to think about that right now. She remained silent, staring the white wyvern down. She clenched her fangs, biting her lower lip, silently thinking to herself, Please be okay.... damnit, all I wanted was a quick meal. I didn't ask for any of this!

After several moments of the dragoness twitching, she seemed to slowly regain consciousness, blinking and looking around in a daze. When she hesitantly spoke up, her voice choppy and confused, Katyusha quickly rushed over to her side again, shushing her. Katyusha wasn't super fluent in universal. She spent most of her time within the Kaamil boarders, and didn't really have a reason to become super fluent in it.

"Shush.... shh. You were hit with lightning. You might be a bit fazed, and no doubt in pain...." she explained quietly, staring at the dragoness's eyes.

Immediately when she spoke up, her helper appeared at her side, quickly shushing her. The dragoness locked eyes with her, dark blue meeting Royal blue, and Athena quickly scanned her face. A pretty face, with silver antlers poking out the top of her head. Ahh.. So I was struck by the lightning. Her pupils dilated and expanded with her breath, her vision fading in and out as her heartbeat gently beat inside her ears.

The throbbing in her wounds, for a few seconds, turned the pain up a notch and Athena growled, digging the hooks at the end of her wings weakly into the earth, leaving deep scrapes in the mud. In all my years.. she panted, voice weakened. I have been attached by every kind of monster.. One can.. Think of, but never.. Have I been.. At..tacked.. By a storm. She found herself laughing, a quiet, raspy laugh that sounded like a dying cow moaning in agony.

She rested her head in the mud, shivering at the sensation of the wet substance sticking to her scales. I'm.. Cold..

The way the dragoness spoke, once she seemed to regain consciousness, and after Katyusha had finished telling her what happened, made the Kaamil roll her eyes. She certainly seemed like the confident type. However, when the wyvern mentioned fighting every monster, Katyusha subconsciously scanned over her body. She did seem pretty run down and scarred. The fighting type, perhaps? Arrogant and full hardy, no doubt.

It made her mentally groan. Those types of dragons always annoyed her, but it was kind of hypocritical of her to think that considering she herself was part of the police force. But then again, she justified that it was different, because this dragoness seemed more bloodthirsty than her. But that had just been inference from one comment the injured, possibly neurologically injured, dragon. So Katyusha decided not to pay it much mind for now.

When the dragoness spoke up again, Katyusha sighed, and spoke in an almost annoyed tone, "I had to freeze your wing to stop the bleeding and numb the pain. How do you feel?" she asked, her voice having a bit more concern and worry in it with the last line.

The female, once Athena had finished speaking, explained that she had frozen her wing to halt further blood loss. Studying the tone of her voice, Athena detected hints of irritation. Perhaps it was the inconveniance? Or perhaps she didnt like her? Athena wasnt one to give good first impressions, so that wouldnt surprise her. Still, she had helped her, potentially saving her life, and her tone had changed slightly when she asked her of her condition.

Slowly, she raised her head, bringing her less battered wing to her side. I'll admit.. I've been better, she replied, offering a weak chuckle. But better then what I would have been without your help. Thank you. She met her helper's eyes and nodded to her.

With a grunt, Athena slowly began to rise, inching onto her feet. She grimaced as her head began to pound, but she banished it from her brain. You are a warrior.. Get up! Leaning on the better wing, she half stood, half sat up. I think I can walk. What now? she asked, once more meeting the gaze of.. Wait, she didnt even know her name.

Athena's brow furrowed slightly and she shut her eyes for a moment at the thought. My name's Athena, she said, hoping for a name in return.

The dragoness seemed to mellow out a bit, perhaps realizing the dire state of the situation. But who could really tell, to be honest. Even though the white wyvern seemed better, Katyusha still worried that there was something wrong. She'd no doubt have to get this dragoness some professional help. But where? The closest healer was likely someone from the Vuari, and who knows how far away they were. And on top of that, even if Katyusha knew which direction to fly, she wouldn't be able to pick up a scent in this storm.

She really was out of options.

Nonetheless, she remained calm, observing the stranger. She shifted a bit, commenting about her injury, before proceeding to attempt to get to her feet. Katyusha reflexively tensed up, ready to dart in and help if the injured ice wyvern were to show any signs of faltering muscles or difficulty standing. She let out a sigh as she didn't display any of the problems she had been worried about.

Taking a step back, her body curving, like it did when she was on the ground, Katyusha looked over the dragoness once more. She looked fine, except for the ice on her wing. She then asked Katyusha what her name was. The dragoness puffed her chest out proudly, smiling, "Nice to meet you, Athena. The name's Katyusha. You know, I'm surprised you're able to stand so recently after being hit by lightning. Thought it would have knocked you out for sure...." she commented.

Athena felt fine. If anyone had asked her, "Hey Athyy girl, how ya doing?" She would have plainly replied with, "Fine," and then probably shoot their head off. Of course, she was dizzy, disorientated and perhaps a little nauseous, but apart from that.. Fine. The light drumming that was the dull pain in her wing was far inferior to the pain it would have been without the female's help. A broken wing was one thing, a destroyed one was quite another. Bones that broke, cleanly anyway, usually left a scar or nothing more. She should know, but ripped skin? Potentially infected? Struck by lightning? Athena didn't know what kind of damage that could do to her ability to fly, and she didn't want to find out.

At her question, the snake-like female seemed to swell with pride, a motion that would have made Athena raise a brow had her head not been sore. Besides, she was in my position to judge, considering the circumstances. The dragoness introduced herself as Katyusha, a name that rolled off her tongue like molten silver off a smooth, golden plate. At her words, the wyvern allowed a tiny smile to appear on her face.

I suppose Im the type to just get up and get on with it, for a few moments, her pupils widened as her vision went out of focus, and Athena pulled an unsightly grimace as her head decided to scream in pain. When her senses returned to her, she discovered she'd leaned dangerously to the left.

"Huh. Well, I would keep yourself alert. It might still be a good idea to relax for a bit,
find somewhere you can sleep for a while without having the move much. There may be unforeseen side effects of the lightning strike." Katyusha added after Athena's comment, observing her closely. She then shook her head, offering a smile towards Athena, "Augh, this formality is killing me. It sucks that rogues don't get free healers, you know? I could bring you up to the Kaamil, if you so desired. I know they've got a healer that'd be willing to help you. And if you flip out and attack somebody, hey, that aint my jurisdiction." she said with a sly smirk.

Katyusha wasn't one to act like she cared about somebody, or at least not strangers she hadn't summed up yet. This stranger.... Athena. She seemed like an okay piece of meat. And she was hurt, so Katyusha didn't have a reason to talk ********. Then again, Katyusha never had a reason to hide how she was truly feeling, and thus ended up in some.... not so comfortable situations.

The rain was just as hard and intense as before, splattering down on the mud and stinging Athena's scales. The space below her eyes, still pink with tenderness, pained her and made her wince. Her hooks dug deeper into the wet earth and held on in an effort to stop her from falling over. Lightning struck once more, alighting Katyusha's features.

At the word 'sleep,' Athena realised how exhausted she had become. Her limbs were numb, crying out for rest, her mind starting to go blank from tiredness. She nodded. Yes, a nice, long sleep would ne wonderful, she uttered with a slow shrug.

She had to smile then at Katyusha's next words. At the mention of Athena's potential aggression, she smirked back. I suppose so. Still, would the Kaamil be.. compassionate enough to heal a rogue? she asked, blinking huge, hard droplets of rain out of her eyes. Ugh. Rain was awful.

Athena leaned again as her vision blurred, the pain in her head spiking up to something that couldn't be ignored. She inhaled slowly in an effort to calm the agony.

Katyusha huffed, staring down at the stubborn dragoness. It was a good thing Katyusha had been able to react to the injuries so quickly. If she had waited at all, this dragoness might have been a goner. Who knows what would have happened if Katyusha hadn't managed to numb the wound and lower her body temperature. She could have had a heart attack, or a stroke, or something like that. Katyusha glanced over Athena once more, eyeing her. True enough, it didn't seem any obvious neurological problems had occurred, but then again, you couldn't be too sure from just a quick observation all over the body.

Listening to Athena, Katyusha shifted a bit from where she was standing, craning hr neck to look around. There wasn't much cover from this rainstorm. She'd doubt they'd find a good cave anywhere, especially not in this downpour. But.... Katyusha glanced up. Suddenly, she had an idea. It likely wouldn't last, but it would be good enough for now. At least, it'd be good enough if Athena couldn't move. Otherwise, they'd probably be best if they tried to move to a more sheltered area.

It didn't come as a surprise that Athena questioned whether the Kaamil would heal her or not. For a brief moment, Katyusha considered if it was a good idea at all to bring her. To make her fly all the way to Kaamil territory, only not to be allowed in the border. It would only exacerbate her wounds even more than they needed to be.

Hesitantly, Katyusha took another step towards Athena, looking over her, "You might be right. We can talk about it after you rest. Do you think you can stand? We need to get you somewhere safer than this." she said, hearing a loud crackle of thunder in the distance, almost as if letting them know that, yes, the storm is still going strong.