Suspicious Scents (Open to All)

Although sunlight was an often ever-present commodity during the daytime, it rarely reached the deepest recesses of Shiveki’s swamps. Thick, choking foliage was in constant competition for the sun’s radiance, often overshadowing what lay beneath. Deep within the swamplands, it would be as dark as the evening, even at noontime. The buzzing and chirping of various creatures often filled the air and kept the silence away, but every now and then, a song is cut violently short by the jaws of something with bigger plans. The air was often filled with a variety of scents, some pleasant, some not so much. More often than not, the sweet scent of the flowers was overpowered by the sickening aroma of fresh blood.

The day was at its peak, with narrow beams of sun piercing through the leafy roof wherever they could find a point of weakness. Small critters hopped and crawled about, desperate in their search for food while also avoiding certain death. Beautiful flowers did their best to grasp at what little sunlight they could find, leaving many of them wilting and rotten. Lizards lay in waiting atop the surface of the bog, waiting for an opportune moment to strike against an unsuspecting or incredibly idiotic critter. With the choking plant live, the dark and murky waters, as well as the vicious wildlife, one would have to be either lost or stupid to wander here.

Amongst this quick-acting microcosm of the food chain, a scent stronger than the rest filled the air. It was not the viscous stench of a rotting corpse, nor the vile odor of the swamp waters. It was a sweet, sugary scent, wafting through the air above the heads of common critters. That appealing smell could be traced easily back to a large flower, sprouted from a mound of mud and other plants. It was gigantic as far as flowers go, possessing a thick green stem and wide-stretching petals. The petals had a wavy pattern of yellow and orange, which was a feast for the eyes in among the dense world of dark green. From the center of the flower, a smooth bud sat, cracked open ever so slightly. A thick, golden fluid flowed from the cracked bud, giving off the intense scent. It seemed to be waiting for some other creature to take the fluid and pollinate another flower, but there were no other plants even close to similar anywhere else within the swamp.

Tharasis soared high above the clouds. It was the perfect day today, clear skies and bright warm sunlight meant he could have all the time he could want to fly as he pleases. It was something he had always liked to do, to feel free as if there was nothing in his way. But today was not such a certain day for the drake. Today it was different.

He wanted to improve upon his skills in art, and what better way then to use nature as his guide and inspiration. There was always something beautiful you can find, from the biggest mountain ranges and tall plentiful trees. To the smallest things like the colorful flowers and small insects. He wanted to find the best place to look for such things.

And what better way than to look into the Shiveki’s swamps. It was odd, yes. But even you can find great treasures in the most unexpected lands. You just needed a keen eye.

Tharasis came evermore so closer and when he saw the swamps below he descended in altitude and dropped slowly till he was merely hovering above the ground. And landing softly he felt the wet and either cold or warm soil and mud. He took each step carefully, avoiding to accidentally crush a branch or slip on the wet surface of the swamp.

It took him a while to get acquainted with his surroundings. But after a while he found it much more easier to walk the longer he spent his time there. He roamed around, searching every nook and cranny for that special plant or perfect scene to which would give him the inspiration he needed. It took a while but he found a special flower hidden among the hidden foliage. It was eye catching to him, perfect for something he could practice a quick sketch.

He pulled out a book and a pencil to begin, when something suddenly interrupted him. A smell, something about it was... Attracting. He couldn't find the words to describe it other than it was sweet, something like honey. And... He just now noticed it seemed to stand out then most of the other scents he could pick up. It was strong, and by judging how strong it was. It was not to far from him.

He made a mental note on where this flower was, right now. He was more interested in finding out this sweetly scented thing. Whatever it was, in this swamp.

It was not to long till he finally found the source. And... It was, something alright. It appeared to be a large flower that perfectly sprouted from the swamps wet surface. A thick stem of green was its neck, and on its head it was adorned with perfect and brightly colored petals. It was truly eye catching, that was something he had to admit.

And being the ever so curios dragon he was, he wanted to examine this plant. For all he knew, it was an entirely new species. As he never saw such a plant this big, or anything else that came close to look anything like it.

He came ever so closer only mere inches from the head of the flower, and slowly and steadily. He extended his right arm to touch its stem. using only one finger to feel the stem, he felt the stem. It was soft, really soft. As if it was skin like.

The only words he could say was. " Such an... Odd, yet. Interesting plant. " He said softly as he continued to feel the stem of the plant.

Tharasis was in awe at the plants beautiful appearance. But it was a trick, and he walked right into it. What he expected was that he was going to draw this majestic plant, in peace and solitude. But instead he got something else.

Tharasis was shocked when he finally realized this was no ordinary plant. And had it not been for his hand that was already touching the neck of it. The plant would have easily bitten his neck, luckily that was not the case. Though he underestimated the strength of the plant he was still able to keep it at a distance from snapping at his neck.

He reared backwards as he regained his balance, before delivering a strong punch at the plants face. Then he would push himself away. And quickly spinning till the blunt side of his large tail blade hit the creature at the chest area. Or in this case, the stem. Should he have hit the plant, the strike would send the creature flying into the air before coming back down on the wet surface of the swamp. It would not injure the creature by any means, but it sure as well would knock the air out of it. Or at least stun it long enough for Tharasis to continue his attack.

Then Tharasis would charge the plant. He planned to pin down the creature using his weight and hopefully restrain his enemy. He made a quick dash before leaping from the ground and dived towards the plant.

During this time he had only just begun to notice the facade this creature was putting on. Or the facade this dragon was putting on. He did not have much time to clearly look at the dragon. But judging from the anatomy and the size, it was clear this was no plant.

Now, Thorn was fully expecting to feel scale and muscle slicing past her maw. Thus, as her jaws snapped shut and she felt no flesh between them, she knew something had gone awry. Only now did she process that her mistake lay in letting him rest a hand on her neck. However, she didn't have too much time to think about it, as moments after she chomped the air a hefty blow struck her square in the face. The strike caused her to recoil quite a bit, hissing in pain as the topside of her snout turned from green to white.

Not long after the first strike, there came another. The tail blade did make contact, and evenly at that. However, Thorn had rooted herself firmly to the ground, having used tree roots for stability when she’d been still earlier. Her grip had tensed as a result of the first blow, so the second didn’t knock her backward. Though, due to her rigidness, the strike had a much stronger impact on her, causing a rather violent flinch and a large white spot at the base of her neck, effectively stunning her for a moment or two.

In all of this, she’d be unable to retaliate in time for his charge. His weight would be more than enough to pin her, as she was rather lightweight for her size, and he was much larger than she was. In the end, she’d severely underestimated the capabilities of the dragon, cursing herself for that as she was pinned. The white spots on her face and neck began to fade back to green after a short while, though they were evidently sensitive for the time being. Though the retaliation had not gone entirely according to how it may have been planned, the end result was the same, as Thorn was effectively pinned to the ground.

Tharasis did not expect his plan to go accordingly. He was anticipating a fight, yet here he was. His opponent already on the ground pined by him. In their position Tharasis was on top while the beast lay chest first to the ground both of his wing tips were planted firmly on the muddy ground. They clamped the plants arms to the ground, and while the blade of the wingtips were not slicing through the plants arms. If it tried to struggle against it, it would most likely end up with cuts and scratches.

Tharasis was relived it was over so quickly, his muscles that were tensed up preparing him for a fight. Were now somewhat relaxing. His rapid breathing slowed down into steady and calm breaths. His mind that was working non stop in forming strategies and tactics he could employ was also coming to an end.

The plants... Stem? or lower body was still firmly planted on the ground. And he thought this plant could use some sort of vines powers or something. He moved his left leg to an angle where he could begin to carve out the base of the stem. His talons could easily rip through the skin like stem in seconds if he wanted. But he was not intending to spill blood today.

He slowly leaned his head to the head of his enemy. And whispered to its ear. " Un root yourself. Or else I will do it for you. " To emphasize his meaning, he slowly began to dig his foots claws into the plants skin. Not to spill blood, but enough let it know what he would do if it did not cooperate.

His hands were mostly free since his wing tips were the ones keeping the plant in place, He placed them on the plants back, making it even harder for the plant to escape.

As he began to calm down, he began to look at the creatures body, And after a while he finally came to the conclusion this was a dragon. Or atleast it looked very similar to one.

" Your a dragon. Aren't you? You are no plant, that is for sure. " He said his voice was calm and soft, but still carried a strong tone of seriousness and slight anger. " Tell me dragon. What is your name? that is if you have one. "

Of course, Thorn had no roots. No roots, no vines, no tendrils. She just happened to have a real strong grip on the rigid tree roots beneath her, though that grip was gone for now. The stem of the flower was nothing more than her neck, and it would be quite clear that she had a body, now that she was pinned. Previously, her body had simply been concealed within the thick brush which she had hidden in originally. Her arms were of little concern to her, as claws were only a backup weapon in her eyes, hence why she obliged in not moving them against the sharp wingtips. Now, Thorn was no stranger to plans going in the favor opposite to hers, hence her calmness in the face of supposed helplessness. But Thorn was quite far from helpless. She took a fair moment to get a good look at her captor, finding his demeanor amusing.

The sharp pressure being applied to her flesh only made her smile, which was a rather unnerving sight considering. She had little fear of him yet, figuring he’d gotten lucky with his blows and was growing a bit big for his boots. Upon hearing him threaten her, or at least try to, the plant scoffed.

“I vould not advise zat, sveetheart,” she mused, her voice calm and sharp. “Ze prettiest flowers often have ze deadliest thorns.” Her tone carried something suspicious and rather condescending to it. Something one who knew more than another might use. Though it was sweet, there was a deep underbite to it, giving evidence to the idea that her voice may be a façade as well.

Her body was certainly an oddity itself. Smooth, green skin wrapped her form like a thin film, dotted with little pinpoint white scars from what looked like spikes or nails. However, no such spikes existed on her external form. She certainly had the appearance of a dragon, minus the wings. Though, despite the draconic image she presented, there were too many organic similarities to rule out plant life. Likely the most unnerving part of her form was the eyes, those soulless, black voids, seeming to either reflect or absorb any light which entered them. Because of this, it was impossible to tell exactly where she was looking, though it was obvious that her gaze was directed at him. Thorn gave no answer to the question of dragon or plant, because neither answer was entirely true or false.

“To most? Zeir vorst nightmare. But for you, sveetheart, you may call me Thorn."

At the sight of her smiling when he applied even more pressure on her back had him raise a brow. No one would smile in a situation like this, but perhaps this was part of a plan. But then again, if she had brought a friends with her they should have attacked him by now.

Tharasis was a little concerned at how the dragon was spoken, her voice. Was well calm and collected, even when she was this close to getting killed. And when he looked into her eyes there was nothing he could see. Only blackness that seemed to stare back at him. He could sense something was suspicious about her words. In a moment he caught on to the meaning.

He waited for her to answer his question before he spoke back. ” Well then, Thorn. Allow me to make this situation a little more comfortable eh? “ He said, his said in a jokingly soft voice.

There was a slight pause. And in a moment something began to manifest around them, some white liquid began to form out from nowhere and slowly the goo of white made its way to Thorns body, the largest of the blob like substance wrapped itself around her waist. A few more connected themselves like cuffs on her arms.

The goo at first felt slimy, not sticky but if you were to feel it it would feel slightly cold to the touch. And after a second the white liquid then began to solidify, into something as hard as iron. And soon Thron now had a new constraint in the form of the large cuff at her abdomen and 2 others on her arms.

Then the 2 cuffs on her arms began to stretch towards eachother and once they made contact the liquid began to solidify into a chain like appearance. The cuff on her waist also began to slither towards a nearby large tree before binding itself into it. Effectively anchoring her to her spot. Though it was not to the point where she could move freely, it did prevent her from attempting to make any escape.

Once it was all done, a slight smirk made its way on To Tharasis’s face. Then he’d slowly lift himself off of her body and slowly make his way to her front. Before sitting himself down.

” Go on, get up from where you lay. You can’t do much with those binding you down. I want to see what you really look like. You seem like an interesting dragon to get to know. “ He said in the same calm voice as he did before. Only this time there lay no second emotions or tones in it. It was a genuine one.

As the goop began to slither along her skin, hints of doubt began to creep into the backmost corners of Thorn’s mind. Doubt of her ability to escape this. However, she played along, keeping a smug demeanor about herself. The smile on her face never faltered or fell, only curling upwards ever so slightly. In truth, she was not a fan of the gooey feeling that the fluid had. She had no problem with mud or blood, but the way it clung to her… it was unnerving. Sticky stuff she could deal with, but slime crossed the line. As it began to harden, she figured that they had different definitions of “comfortable”. Still, she'd been in worse scenarios, so a few chains were of little concern to her. 

Upon being effectively anchored to the tree, Thorn simply chuckled. It wasn’t a happy chuckle, rather one filled with mire and scorn. She was delighted that his weight was no longer pushing her down, but that tiny bit of delight was shrouded by the fact that she was partially immobilized. She sat upright what little she could, giving him some sort of look. With no discernable features in her eyes, it was impossible to tell whether she was glaring or gazing, or even a mixture of both. Either way, she seemed quite focused on him.

“Straight to ze chains, huh? A little forvard, I must admit.” Despite the situation, she still seemed quite calm, even playful. In fact, her calm outward appearance never ceased through all of it. Moreso, she seemed to be having fun with the scenario, something which would be uncommon for someone who was chained to a tree and at the mercy of their captor. Upon hearing him say he thought she’d be interesting to know, she laughed a bitter, half-hearted, scornful laugh. “Beating around ze bush here, aren’t ve? Are you going to kill me or not?” She was almost teasing him with her intonation at this point. “Or do you enjoy playing vith your food? I don’t blame you. Alvays fun to vatch ze little vorms cry for mercy. Vell, you von’t get any pleading from me." After a moment, however, she seemed to get impatient. "Come on, kill me or don't. I haven't got all day, you know.”

Tharasis watched as she sat up as best she could, allowing him to see the entirety of her figure from where he sat. Still she kept that same smile on her face, even chuckling. This was one playful dragon Tharasis thought to himself. That even when she was in this bad situation it seemed she can still find happiness. A couple of thoughts went to his mind, one of which suggested if she was insane. But judging from what he heard and what he was seeing right now, that was very unlikely.

The way she commented at her situation, as if she was thinking this was all a game? No. This was no game, after what she just did. He doubts she would be in this situation had she encountered a different dragon other than Tharasis. She teased him a little, and after a while appeared to grow quite impatient that he was not doing anything to her.

The way she expressed her words were as if she was completely serious about wanting him to finish this by killing her. To which he raised a brow as he could only think she was still playing. If anything she should be glad he did not end her life on a whim. He paused for a moment, before slowly rising from where he sat and slowly made his way to her.

He towered over her as he went ever so closer, and eventually he would reach her. And lowered his head to face her, to the point where their snouts were merely inches from meeting each other. He gave her a long good stare in those black orbs of hers. " You sound like someone who's not afraid to die today. " A long pause happened. Till eventually his expression turned from a dead serious, to a smug look of satisfaction. A slight chuckle escaped him as he sat down once again, only this time he sat ever so closer to her.

" You really are something special aren't you Thorn? Well. I guess its time we end this little charade of a game. I think you've had your fun. " He said as the cuffs on her arms slowly began to disappear into nothing. But the large cuff on her waist remained. " Well judging by the looks of it you seem desperate to eat something. Seeing as you risked your life to kill me, come. If you want to get to know eachother a little more maybe we can do this while we hunt for something then. Just don't try and attack me the second i let you go. " With those words said he stood up and made his way to give himself some distance away from her. Before the cuff that was binding her to the tree slowly disappeared as well.

" Do you happen to know someplace here where we can hunt? " He asked her.

In truth, Thorn had been in plenty of unfavorable situations, some better and some worse than this. The difference was that she had found a constant throughout all of them: Humor. In most cases, be she on the business end of a blade or three feet from a bonfire, nothing truly worked as humor did. To act completely fine, almost to the point of enjoying the situation, it always seemed to unnerve or confuse her aggressors at least long enough to escape. Hence, she smiled and laughed in the face of her own demise, as she knew she’d either succeed in escaping or die before she could regret it. As she watched her captor stare at her, she could only imagine what was running through the mind of the monochrome male. She was well-prepared if he did plan to go through with it, but silently hoped he wouldn’t. He seemed passive enough, at least as far as most people go. Usually, she had to turn someone into swiss cheese by this point, so she figured it was going well.

As he approached and spoke, she herself raised a brow. Afraid to die? Oh, Thorn was plenty afraid to die. But she was not going to stand for being toyed with beforehand. Playing with food was something she was perfectly fine with doing, except when she was on the receiving end of it. “Death? Sveetheart, to fear death is cowvardice,” she said with a smirk. Upon seeing his satisfied, smug look, followed by a chuckle, she herself chuckled. Perfect… Just as planned.

Upon the oddly hard cuffs melting away, she glanced between her forelimbs and him. “Aw, over so soon? I vas having fun,” she joked, though it wasn’t clear whether that was actually a joke or not. “Desperate? No, no… But I vouldn’t have minded ze full-course meal you vould have been. You certainly have plenty of meat on your bones.” Her smile faded as the final, midsection-restraining ring disappeared. Not because of the freedom, but because of what he said after. The main word which offset her was “we”. “You vant to hunt… vith me?” The thought was almost amusing in a disdainful sort of way. “Sveetheart, ze entire svamp vould know you’re coming. You are far too large. Besides, I’m certain ve have very different hunting styles. Say, vhy are you here anyvays? Certainly an odd place to vander.”

Tharasis could only listen as she continued to talk. " Huh, I guess your not afraid of death. " At her comment at how he would have made meal he could only give her a look of disbelief and questioning look. Did she really just said to him how she would take pleasure in eating him? An odd way to talk to someone who could have killed you, but he'll take it with a note on how he should keep an eye just in case.

" If your thinking about trying to attack me while my back is turned, I'll let you know right now that I'll always have the advantage. " He said, and it was true. In terms of size and power he has the clear advantage, as well as having his powers it would certainly be a challenge for her to beat him. If she had a chance at beating him at all.

At her question he'd look at her with a simple smile. " Well, I came here expecting to find some inspiration to practice my skill in art. But, i guess it ended with me meeting you. And after what just happened, I am quite famished. With all the flying i had to do, I thinks its been a while since i had my last meal. "

Despite her comments about how she would have enjoyed eating him, she made no move against him when she was released. Sure, she may act ahead of her thoughts, but she wasn’t stupid. That little look of disbelief that he gave her only made Thorn smirk. If she couldn’t beat him, the least she could do was cause discomfort. His notion of superiority fell on empty ears, as it was already obvious that it would be impossible for her to beat him head-on. In fact, the statement of advantage only made him seem like a bigger sleazeball to her, so she took what he said even less seriously. “Sure, sure, vhatever lets you sleep at night,” she scoffed, rather dismissively at that.

“Pah, art. Drawving von't help you vhen you have a blade to your neck," she mused. She saw art as pointless, something to distract one from reality. Why even bother? "Famished? Shouldn’t you have thought of zat before?” It was clear from her almost mocking tone that she didn’t take him seriously, not one bit. “Vell, if you’re going to hunt, scram. Go elsevhere. I don’t need competition, especially vhen zis svamp is as sparse as it already is.” At that, she stood up abruptly, stepping back to her bushes and beginning to spruce them back up branch-by-branch. They had taken a bit of a beating when a dragon decided to sit on her, on top of them.

“ Oh come on Thorn, If you can smile even when faced with death. Then I doubt you can’t handle me stating the obvious. “ he said with a sly look.

“ I guess so. I don’t see much use of that skill in that given situation. But it does give me something to do in my spare time, and it’s quite a rewarding talent if you try it yourself. I mean, don’t you have anything else to do other than sit there and wait for something to come to your mouth? Unless you have some other interest that you do “ he said, in his eyes art was something beautiful. That is if you are good at it, and he had to admit he was not quite well experienced. But he always found pleasure in doing it in his past time.

” Come on Thorn. You don’t have to act this way, If the scarcity of prey in this swap is the reason. Then I know a plains area not far from where we are, in fact I think I can fly us there in about 10 minutes or so. And last I saw it was filled with herds of all kinds of animals. I’ll even haul your catches back to your home if you want. wouldn’t you want that? “ Tharasis offered, his voice was sincere in tone. He was an adept hunter in his own way, and wanted to put his skills to the test again. He would often be able to catch around 20-30 animals in any of his hunting trips. Freezing them then stockpiling them in his cave, and his food supply would often last a full month before he had to hunt again.

Though it may have benefitted her to hear his side of art, it frankly went in one ear and out the other. Thorn kept an open mind with most ideas and prospects, but art she could not care less for. It was not on her list of to-dos and it certainly wouldn’t be any time soon. A rewarding talent, Pah! The only reward one might get from art is a useless, smelly piece of paper. The way he talked about her style of hunting didn’t exactly rub her the right way, as he was making it sound as if she was lazy. Of course, she was, but she preferred the term “patient”.

Upon hearing his proposition, Thorn was stone-faced for a moment, trying to figure out if he was serious or not. She'd tried to kill him solely for the purpose of a meal, and he was proposing to take her hunting? Thorn knew he might be a little backwards, but even this was a surprise. Sure, she'd met delusional dragons before, but never one this... merciful. It made something click in her mind, something suspicious. Just what was he trying to get away with, anyway?

“Ze plains? Ze PLAINS? Absolutely not. Zey are far too vide and open. Prey can see one from miles avay. No, no. Plus, my flower is very… out of place zere. It vould be a pointless endeavor for me. I am perfectly fine doing my own hunting here in ze svamp, especially vithout someone else scaring all of ze fresh meat avay,” she hinted at him. “Besides, not only do I lack a home to haul back to, but zere is no vay I vould let you fly me there. Out of ze question. I am quite happy on ze ground, right here, in zis svamp.”