A Crystalline Shadow (private Ignacia + Rihzome)

Wings spread, as he soared about the marshlands below him, Rihzome stretched his neck out to catch the dying light of the sun, as it slipped behind the wall of mountains that housed his new home, for now at least, close enough to Xoyan territory to allow him to travel there, when he wished, but also to ensure that patrols and only rare hunting parties stumbled upon him. The place was glorious, a network of interconnected caves, the likes of which were only challenged by the catacombs that served as the support for the Twilight Palace. Coasting towards said mountains, slowly, he flared his wings just as his rear paws touched down, landing surprisingly daintily for a dragon his size, before tucking them snugly down, the cold air already seeping into his scales, making him shiver pleasantly. Stretching out the rest of his body, he happily strode into the cave, not much to look at from the outside, but inside already covered in books, charts, maps, scrolls, and a surprising amount of crystals. They seemed to have formed in abundance in the area, especially deeper inside the tunnels, which he was finally ready to delve into.

Squeezing his bulk through a 'crack' in the wall, if something large enough to fit a 70-odd foot tall dragon was still small enough to be classed as such, he let out a soft gasp. The veins of crystals he had seen, in a myriad of colours ranging from deep sapphire to almost royal purple, had lead him deeper into the caverns, a long, thick rope trailing behind him as a marker. Finally, it had led him to a 'dead end', which had this single crack adorning it… and inside… the jackpot. The walls seemed to be made of these crystals, in varying shades but all extremely intense, none suffering the fading he had noted far close to the entrance. And, in the centre of this little… room, a single, massive crystal. Easily his own size, if not larger, he was drawn towards it, an almost silly smile on his maw, as he pressed a paw against it, softly stroking the solid mass. The amount of magic he would be able to infuse into this structure, use it as a beacon or storage or… Was it breathing?

The land that Ignacia knew and loved was more than trouble for her own sanity. However, the dragoness pressed forward, always ignoring the pains and aches from the days. The only thing that she looked forward to was being able to hunt, help others that needed a form of care of another. And yet, here she was. She had found this cave quite by chance, having been curious to try and explore the underground networks of tunnels. But, after squeezing through several thinner passages, the female finally found the resting place that she had been desiring. A place away from the hassles of life, the trials that it gave her in a daily basis. The grand aqua dragoness had finally found a place that she could rest, outside of the prying eyes of others.

The tunnel itself had only one small exit and entrance, something that would convince other dragons to go around in a different way. However, for her, the gap wasn't too large and she was able to cope with it. Admittedly, that was all it was. Coping.

However, here, she found her rest and had been attempting to do some catch up with her rest, easing the headache that formed from the days activity. Curled into a tight sphere, tucked away at the back of the cave and near several veins of red, purple, blue and green, Ignacia found a place to sleep. The dragon herself slept on nothing more than the rocks and stone beneath her claws, not having the luxuries of furs and other things as fancy as that. After all, she tended to burn and melt every piece of animal hide that she came into contact with. It was a bad habit, but something that the girl always somehow managed to do. But it was in this same place that she rested, her breaths slowly coming to her.

That was, until she heard something.

The sound of something moving against stone.

The sound of scales pushing through the tight walkways.

The sound of something moving closer.

However, the dragoness knew better than to give herself away. Instead, she continued her sleep. Her breathing slowed to match the pace of a normal slumbering dragon. All she could do was hope that they didn't pay attention to her... Or else it was going to have interesting concequences.

Instead of frightening them away, she simply continued to sleep, her cyan eyes peaking out from underneath her wing to gaze upon the one who dared to interrupt her sleep.

But upon seeing them...

She really just wanted them to leave.

Cocking his head, as he watched, he noted the slow, steady rhythm, that of a large creature slumbering. But… "Impossible…"  He breathed softly, admiring the crystal. A… 'living' being? Hewn from crystal? Quickly, his mind filled with old stories, half-translated manuscripts that spoke of dragons like this, pure elemental beings, that lay slumber in long forgotten and hidden corners. Crystals, magma, stone and even water. Beings that could manipulate the elements like mortals could only dream of, making even such impressive feats as the Tempest Ring seem to be nothing more than a simple wind machine…  But he had to be sure. Pressing his mind against the crystal, he attempted to find a mind, find and touch it… but instead, he was met with impassive, inorganic blankness. A wide smile bloomed on his maw, an almost hatchling like excitement spreading from him. An elemental… A true elemental… The power it had… the… hundreds, thousands of years it must have rested here… Maybe even from before the forming of the tribes on Nuira…

Slowly, Rihzome continued to stroke the crystal, his keen eyes examining the elemental's form, noting where it seemed… rigid, his paw moving over to the softly stroke it, before slipping down into the valley between it and the next ridge… A wing. Could it fly? He doubt it, but the thought was reminded by the fact that while it would likely be too heavy for a regular dragon, it wasn't simply flesh and blood. The paw moving over the crystalline surface, he opened his maw, before falling silent, opening his maw once more, and softly uttering a single, unsure word. "Hello…?"

Of course the dragon wasn't just going to leave her alone to sleep. Instead, she could feel the being draw closer, their heat emanating from their scales the closer they drew to her own body. Silently, faking her own sleep, she listened to them, just hoping beyond all hope that they would just leave. However, that was surely not going to happen. He murmured something under his breath, something that Ignacia didn't manage to catch as it seemed to slip in one ear and out the other. However, the familiar throbbing at the back of her head told her all that she really wanted, or needed, to know.

He was a male. A male dragon.

Great.

With a small, internal groan, she made several dozen mental notes at once. Some of them even included to get out of this place and situation as soon as she possibly could. The sooner she did so, the sooner she was able to get her headache relieved. And the sooner she was able to get back to her sleep that she was doing that was designed to actually get rid of her own headaches.

However, the dragon decided that it was going to be an absolutely grand idea to stroke her. Her aqua eyes, still watching, unseen, almost made her stand up and strike him across the face when she saw that paw raise. She only had a few moments before he was going to touch her. Instantly, wherever the dragon had touched her, the crystalline hide groaned slightly. Spiderweb-like cracks quickly appeared through her hide, glistening and shining in the low light.

Whatever he said to her was unheard of as she, instinctively, recoiled from him. Slowly uncoiling herself and, drawing herself to her full height- which was still smaller than him, much to her annoyance, she looked at him, narrowing her eyes. The headache was back in full force as she opened her maw to speak.

"What is it...?" She asked, her voice not having malice, but spoke as if she were an old dragon deprived of their sleep, longing to have it. "And please, before you touch someone... It's better to learn their name- especially when you're in their home..." She let the statement hang, her eyes watching him as her head tilted to the side.

Why was it her luck to have her private cave invaded by the only thing that she couldn't handle...

Before Ignacia even had a chance to move, Rihzome pulled his paw away from her hide with an extremely concerned look on his maw. To see those cracks spreading across that clear and magnificent crystal elemental, it sent a shard of pain, horror and profuse regret through him. But as her form uncurled, recoiling from his touch, those feelings were only redoubled, as the elemental… dragoness stood, a faint smile on his maw as he noted that she was just a touch shorter than himself.

"I meant no disrespect, ma'am…" He told her softly, bowing his head to her, his snout almost brushing the floor, before slowly lifting his head, keeping it at her level, unwilling to make her look up, or seem that he was trying to be larger or in a position of power… Especially since, as far as he knew, this dragoness was exceedingly powerful… more so than he could ever hope to be.

"I truly did not think my touch would be able to awaken an elemental such as yourself from their slumber… nor cause them harm…" He added, gently, still feeling terrible about what he had done, even if it was by accident. "I honestly… did not have anything to ask or speak to you about ma'am… I simply…" He looked around the cavern. "I followed the crystal veins here and they led to this place… I, at first, simply mistook you as a rare example of a massive, intact crystal… but… When I heard your slumbering breaths… I did not think that someone such as myself would awaken you…" He told her, truthfully.

Stopping for a moment, his eyes widened, as the full magnitude of her words landed upon him. "Your home? By the g-goddess I'm so incredibly s…sorry." He stammered, moving back towards the crack in the wall, wanting to be close to it, especially if she decided to do… something unpleasant. "May I ask your name, ma'am?"

Ignacia could almost hear the slight smile on his lips as he spoke those words, knowing that he found it at least partially amusing that she was smaller than he was. However, despite being smaller, this foreign dragon knew to play nice- somewhat nicely at least. He formally lowered his head, almost as if in a bow to her to ask for forgiveness. With a sigh, she felt her head throbbing painfully. His words spoke of an elemental, something that Ignacia had never come across before. A frown tugged on her brow as her claws lightly dug into the stone underneath herself. "Think nothing of it... But truly, what do you mean by an 'elemental'? I am a-" Her headache flared and she closed her eyes, slowly exhaling as if to regain her own composure. "I'm a dragoness, a simple and plain dragoness."

A lie, but a necessary one.

Ah, so the poor dragon simply managed to stumble around in the dark and find herself here. It was a pity really, as Ignacia had thought that she'd found a place that was obscure enough to fend off almost any drake. Shaking her head slightly, the dragoness returned her eyes to him, watching in silence as his form subconsciously edged towards the thin crack that lead outside of the area. "It's nothing, don't... Worry about it, I had been hoping that this was going to be a place that allowed me to simply rest and regain some of my strength." She explained, before giving a small sigh. "I see that I'll need to go on a hunt for a new place to dwell. Don't worry yourself with waking me." She said, trying to brush away how he reacted to her. Honestly, it was rather odd and caused her headache to painfully flair with every word that she spoke to him.

Grand...

"As for my name... It's Ignacia." She said simply, before she lifted her wing to glance at the spiderweb cracks through her side, making no sound when she saw the rifts between the crystalline plating widening with every moment. It wasn't enough for others to notice, but enough for her to and she lowered the wing again, before turning her body to face the dragon.

"May I know the name of the dragon who happened to stumble into my home?"

As the dragoness began to speak, Rihzome frowned, for just a short moment. 'Just' a dragoness? Not an elemental? Well… This certainly was awkward… "Ma'am, I mean no… disrespect or intent to woo, but you are far from a 'simple and plain' dragoness. The way that light bounces from and is trapped within your hide, the shadows and lighting cast by it… You are just as entrancing as any jewel." He told her truthfully, no hint of attempting to flatter, only telling her simply what he saw and thought.

As he thought and examined her, his mind was drawn back. If she truly was a dragoness, and not some elemental being, it raised the question of why her mind was… non-existent. Maybe her species was… immune to psychic powers? Their minds operated on a different system? Who knew… All that stood was that she was incredibly intriguing, from both a scholarly and a personal point of view. "Please, do not take it upon yourself to do so simply because of myself! I only stumbled upon this place myself as I was too searched for somewhere… isolated. Most Xoyan's have no respect for history, including their own, or magic… It's far easier to study away from them and their distractions." He told her. "I will happily find a new dwelling, if it means you getting the rest you were searching for." He told her with a smile.

Noting how she lifted her wing after giving her name, Ignacia, a rather… unique and exotic name, he craned his neck, attempting to see what she was looking to, needing only a moment to put two and two together, a wince making its way to his features. "Rihzome." He gave to her after only a moment, that frown still adorning his maw. "Please, allow me to profusely apologise… I had no idea…" He shook his head. No, that wasn't right. "I'm terribly sorry for the damage I caused." He told her simply, his head glancing towards the ground, a torrent of shame running through him. Already, he had hurt this magnificent dragoness, and that was before he had even be graced with the knowledge of her name. "Please… allow me to make it up to you. There's a large number of deer that live in the valleys around here… If it would be… agreeable with you, I would happily hunt several for you, to ensure you had a meal awaiting for you once you awaken."

The flattery was probably the worst thing that the dragon could have done. Despite no feelings behind it, she felt the headache stab her painfully behind her eye. Skillfully, and in an attempt to hide the shafting pain that she felt brewing right behind her vision giving organ, she raised a paw and released a gentle sigh. This was to not only hide it, but to also try and calm the flaring sensation down. Of course, that was probably the best she could ever do with allowing it to be relieved. Aside from that, the dragoness shook her head. "All things considered, I am a dragoness which has been dwelling in areas such as these to get away from people and reincorporate from the feelings I receive during the day." That was the closest she would ever come in explaining her own actions.

With a small shrug at the dragons apology and earnest explanations, Ignacia turned her head away from them and lowered the paw from rubbing against her forehead. "I know that you didn't mean for these things to happen, or to even find me here and that you were simply just looking around for crystalline structures to keep you company as you slept... However, if you wouldn't mind excusing myself... I probably should go and snag something to hunt. You may have here if you wish- I only really found it a few days ago after all."

An excuse to get away from him, plus also something that was going to sate her deep and crippling hunger. As for the history... Screw history. It never served to help her out of her own predicament, so she swapped to something that would draw her away from it. . . The practice of brutality, the practice of crippling strikes and powers that would overwhelm her opponents.

"There's no need to apologise, you didn't know anything or, potentially, anyone who was around these parts. It's not your fault... But, on a side note, thank you for telling me about the deer, I think I will snag a few for myself... So don't feel the need to make up for it." Ignacia did notice the grief that plagued him, but truly, the dragoness just wanted to bypass him and go elsewhere. Who knew who else would be able to find this place if one dragon could during his explorations? Ignacia hummed lightly, her form shifting and moving towards the exit. However, as she came close to Rihzome, her expression darkened with a deep frown, as if attempting to concentrate on something unseen. The crack suddenly seemed too far away as she slipped by him and through it with a surprising certainty with her steps. Her wings unfurled slightly, spreading out a little in the larger cavern, shaking her head in a vain attempt to relieve herself.

From the moment she sighed, Rihzome knew there was something… wrong. Maybe a subtle disease? Overtired? Hungry? There was something wrong with her, regardless, and it was obvious she was trying to hide it, with all these… unnatural movements. "And once more, I am terribly sorry for being one of those people, to disturb you…" He murmured gently, thinking. Noting how her paw moved to rub her forehead, it wasn't hard to put two and two together. So a headache of some sort… probably from lack of sleep, or something like that, judging from how… annoyed she was to be awoken. Not really caring about having or not having the cave, he simply told her so. "While this is a beautiful place, I could not ask that of you. Please, I will happily leave you alone here. Crystals do not hold much value for me, other than their use for storing magic and as gifts for others… And…" He glanced towards the ground for a moment, before back at her. "If it's a headache you have… I have some potions that could help with it…" He told her, honestly trying to make at least some amends for what he had done. "Telepath headaches are painful, since it's mostly magic based pain, so I can't really just… go get something for them, I have to make them myself… They're much more effective and longer lasting… and I'm rambling again…" He muttered, softly, mostly to himself, giving an apologetic glance at Ignacia.

Stepping aside, to allow Ignacia past as she moved to the exit, a flash of panic, albeit small, surged through him. All it would take was for her to take a turn off of the main path to reach the cave he had claimed, for now, and while he found himself doubting this dragoness was the intentionally malicious type, he did find himself dreading the thought that she may find either his stash of artefacts, all containing powerful magic and dangerous in their own rights, his old Xoyan armour, which he had used to prove he was, or at least once was a Xoyan, or his collection of books… which while most were rather standard for a scholar, like enchanting and magic shattering, there was a selection of far more… promiscuous novels. Honestly not knowing which was the worst of the three, although leaning towards the last, he quickly hurried from the cave, ignoring Ignacia if she hadn't begun to move, and breaking into a sprint if she wasn't visible, determined to secure his belongings first before… Before what? He paused for a moment. Hunt her down? Question her on what abilities her species had access to? After she had so… directly told him to leave her alone? Reminding himself it technically wasn't stalking if they both so happened to be hunting in the same valley, he moved with slower steps, towards his exit, and his belongings, hoping that they remained untampered with.

"It doesn't really matter, to be honest... It'll only take me a few weeks to find something that is just as suitable as this is for me." Ignacia commented easily. Really, giving up a place to live wasn't a big deal.

Well, not to her at least...

The dragon was rather odd, instead of letting her pass through with ease, they decided that it was going to be a grand idea to try and beat her towards the exit. With a restrained groan from the proximity of where he had gone past, she just tried her best to ignore it. "I do not need anything for what ails me. In fact, there's almost nothing that you can give me that will actually help. Trust me, I've tried so many different things to try and actually get my thoughts back in control." Ignacia said easily, her tail swinging ever so slowly behind her as she walked. The rocks and some of the crystals underneath her paws cracked, some releasing their stored magic energy. Energy of red and blue came forth, coiling around her paws before releasing themselves into the air around her.

With a small smile, the dragoness gave a small bark of laughter. Of course it wasn't going to hurt her, the magic wasn't something that she had been able to connect with, especially since that dragon had decided to curse her all that time ago. With an internal shrug, the dragoness lightly unfurled her wings, stretching out the sore muscles as she walked towards the exit, not exactly wanting anything to do with the dragon in front of her. However how he acted was rather suspicious, acting as if he had forgotten something that was mildly important to him.

Ignacia shrugged internally.

It wasn't her problem after all.

It was his.

So why get involved?

With her head held high, she continued forward, deliberately ignoring the male as she walked, in silence, towards the opening of the cave. Stones jutted from the ground and roof, long rocks carved to the shape of a gigantic maw, teeth like razors, mouth lined with different crystals. Something that she had had fun doing one day. There was even still burn marks across the slabs of stone if one were to look close. Slipping out and through the maw of the beast, the light shone down against her crystalline hide. Where her fragmented hide was, it danced with light, having such deep cracks, yet she didn't flinch with any step that she took. It'd take more than that to make her flinch.

"If you don't mind, I do hunt... Rather differently. You can choose to come with me, but really, I will give you the warning that you deserve. It will be a very quick hunt as I am able to take down the majority of the deer around here from quite the distance. However, it mainly depends on if I am accurate." She explained easily, before she began to descend from the cave, her eyes looking towards the forests which she originally stalked for food. Perhaps the herd had returned to her...

Having decided in his mad dash which was the worst outcome, the male hurriedly stuffed a number of books into his satchel, the names of which gave exactly an idea as to what was contained within their pages. Blushing furiously, trying to hide them and their covers with his bulk from Ignacia, he paused for a moment as she spoke. “Oh, trust me. They work wonders on both normal and magic-related headaches. Taste horrific, but they do work. I have doubts they wouldn’t work on you.” He mused, still not turning, until every book was buried in his satchel. There were only a handful of that nature, thankfully…

Turning once they were safely stowed, he noted with concern the cracks and fracturing of Ignacia’s hide. “If you need some help… I know someone who… grows crystals. She might be able to help that heal… It’s the very least I could do for inflicting such an… unsightly scar…” He murmured gently, keeping his distance as she spoke, before a small smile came to his maw. Nodding eagerly, almost like a hatchling (not that she was looking in his direction), he waited a few moments after she had descended out of view, stashing the satchel away safely behind a pile of tomes on magic breaking, before moving and spreading his wings, giving a single, slow stroke of them before allowing himself to dive, rather lazily, off of the edge of the cave mouth, tilting away as to give Ignacia a wide berth, but keep in range that he could hear her rather well without her having to raise her voice too much, vice versa for him.

“So… Uh...If I may… Why did you choose to live out here? I know you said to get away from people… but is there a specific reason? I liked the… loneliness as well… simply because my work, at least the little I brought with me, isn’t the kind that takes kindly to people sticking their noses in it… Heh… And it’s easier to focus and work when there’s… no-one there… annoying you…” He trailed off, realising he was doing just that to the dragoness, even if he wished to only create some conversation, falling silent rather quickly and staying like that, just gently riding the wind as he watched and circled around her, lazily, secretly admiring the crystalline hide while observing her, such an oddity…

She knew that he was just trying to be polite, but the fractures of her hide displayed otherwise. With his suggestions, the dragoness was already politely trying to decline him. "I understand what you are trying to say, and that you are trying to be kind to me. But please, understand that what ails me isn't exactly physical but something else. Physical. Doesn't help..." She wasn't even able to help herself and finish the sentence. Even giving him that shred of information, despite it being so vague, caused pain to flair through her. She wanted to hiss, but held her crystal tongue between her shining teeth. A few splinters of cracks came at the base of her head, underneath her crown of horns.

She heard ruffling behind her, something moving, but she didn't cast her gaze back. Why would she if the sight might cause something else to appear? "As ironic as it is, I just need a good meal and my body will restore itself." At least that didn't hurt to tell him. As she was descending the side of the mountain, with him seeming to be following, she listened to him talk. His voice seemed excited, enthusiastic and full of energy, something which she admired. Her headache throbbed again as she laughed gently.

"Do try not to worry. I live out here because it pains me to live any closer to the cities. I cannot be too close, or... It punishes..." Ignacia gave a frustrated growl, before shaking her head. "Don't get me wrong, I do not mind company, I love and adore being able to talk but it's just..." She sighed, before standing still and looking to the dragon for a moment. "You are a smart dragon, judging by what things you imply that your read and study, that you don't want others to see... I ask you now, if being around a single one like you causes me to be like this, what would a city? What would that do to me?" She asked as gently as she could, before turning away to keep walking down the mountainside, her eyes scanning the forests for any sign of movement once more.