Suspicious Scents (Open to All)

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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.

” Oh, I see. Well then, I guess if you’re going to go back into your flower appearance. I don’t think It would bother you if I sketch out your appearance. “ He said, though a little disappointed that she denied him. It was still her choice, and if she didn’t want to then that’s final. At least he thinks she would allow him to draw the plant she was, as it was his original purpose as to why he came here in the first place.

Sitting down he’d pull out a book from his satchel alongside a feather and ink. And gave her time to revert back to her plant state. Giving her time in Whatever she needed to do to accomplish that.

” Once I finish, I’ll be on my way then. But my offer is still up if you ever want to reconsider. “ He softly said to her as he dipped the feather lightly on the small glass container filled with ink.

Frankly, Thorn wasn’t sure exactly why he was insistent on helping her. She didn’t understand the point of helping another when there was no benefit to the helper. In short, this was the reason behind her suspicion, as she wondered exactly what he would gain from helping her find food. It wouldn’t save his life, as they were not fighting, and it would only hinder his own hunting, so there was no point to it in her eyes. However, as they talked, her suspicion dwindled. She began to think that maybe, just maybe, he was taking pity on her. In a way, that made her both pleased and annoyed. How nice of him, mixed with How dare he. All the while she was just sort of staring at him with that same, cold expression, though it was not nearly as frosty as before. 

Upon hearing that he would like to sketch her appearance, Thorn’s cheeks grew an ever-so-faint white tinge to them. Surely he was joking, but at this point, she wasn’t sure what to believe about him. Thus, to stall any awkwardness, she shook her head. Figuring it would be better to take him up on his offer than sit and be drawn, much to her embarrassment, she obliged. “Oh, alright. Ve can go to your plains,” her tone was not nearly as sharp and bitey as before, sounding almost apologetic. Thorn usually didn’t bother to know anything about those who were her meals, so the information she had about him coupled with the fact she ALMOST killed him… It didn’t bond well in her head. He probably had such a rich and interesting life- Not that she cared, but it wasn't something she was as enthusiastic about snuffing out anymore. “But I am not flying zere. I'll valk.”

At the sound of her voice Tharasis perked up. He noticed the less aggressiveness and gave her a small smile. Before closing his book and putting his stuff back into his satchel. ” Well I’m happy to hear you have reconsidered. You can ride on my ba- “ He was cut of by her mentioning she was not going out fly there.

He nodded and stood up. Stretching himself before looking back at her again. ” Then I’ll walk with you. “ Tharasis said softly as he walked closer to her. Before turning to the direction where he knew the plains were. It would take a while, especially since they would have to traverse the swamp. It would have been much faster had they flown there instead. But if Thorn didn’t want to fly then they wouldn’t.

At the very least, Thorn was glad he was fine with walking. The idea of being up in the air was a terrifying one, at least to her. No, she’d much rather stay firmly on the ground, and would naturally hope that didn’t change too often. She wasn’t entirely certain about what she would do with him, but she tolerated him for now. Upon him standing, she didn’t move at first, waiting for him to begin walking before standing up and following. "Alright. Lead ze way."

Although she was technically following him, there was a definite pace difference. Thorn moved quite gracefully in and around the many obstacles presented within the swamp. She dodged through and under trees, be they upright or not, traversed muddy waters with ease, and had no problem avoiding the poisonous pricker bushes which grew in natural hedges by the water’s edge. Despite her size, the tightly-woven net of the swamp was quite simple for her to navigate. She had to pace herself, however, as despite the advantage on her home terrain, as she didn’t intend to lose him just yet.

Tharasis was more than impressed by her ability to traverse the swamp. It looked so easy watching her do it. She was graceful in each step she made, as if she was not afraid that if she had made a wrong step or turn she could end up in the mud.

As for Tharasis on the other hand he was not quite so well off. His large stature made it hard to traverse this land with ease. Each step he had to take carefully less he risk slipping or stepping to deep in the mud, and at times the trees blocked his way so much that in order to pass through he had to force himself to pass through the think branches. Resulting in a few trees in his way to fall.

Luckily the thorns did very little to him, if any at all. His scales were more than enough to protect him from the thorny bushes, so he had that going for him.

” You really make this seem so simple. “ He said as he took another step on the muddy soil. He was going to have to clean himself after this.

It took them a good while but eventually they would finally leave the swamps. And enter the plains where Tharasis had seen the animals.

A small incline stood in front of them, one they would have to climb to get a good view of the plains.

” Well. We’re almost there Thorn. “ He said as he started to walk up the incline. His tail slowly swaying from side to side.

Contrary to him, Thorn was actually careful enough not to get herself dirty. Indeed, she did make it look simple, though that simplicity was the product of forty-odd years of experience. She didn’t pay much heed to his difficulty, as it was not uncommon for inexperienced swamp-goers to move slowly through the murky terrain. In fact, she didn’t pay too much heed to him at all. Of course, she knew where the plains were- she’d lived in the area for quite some time. Thorn didn’t really need his guidance to get there, but she figured he may still be useful to her, or at least entertaining to watch. 

The plains, if one could call them that, weren’t really plains. There weren’t really any true plains in Shiveki after all. No, it was likely more of a large clearing, a place where the dense forestry and choking foliage didn’t bother to spread. A place where the critters who couldn't bear the forest or the swamp resided. Cowards, she liked to think. Thorn had been to these kinds of clearings before, but she avoided them mostly for a number of reasons. Many of those reasons stemmed from the openness of the area, which made hunting unideal for a wingless beast like herself. The other reasons were along the lines of Xoyan patrols and how out of place she looked, but those were of minimal concern. Despite this, she still went along with him, her speed lowering drastically once they exited the swamp.

As Tharasis came to realize that what he saw above was not all true. The plains he had seen below was actually a very large clearing. A place where the trees nor the other foliage that resided in the swamp tried to spread.

It was mostly open, with many tall grasses and some rocks. Flowers and other sorts. Though it was not what he was trying to find. Looking around, the clearing was populated with a lot of animals.

Rabbits over there, some sheeps here, and what appears to be a large herd of Elks. Perfect he thought, something he could easily catch. Unless he could not use his breath.

Tharasis often relied on his powers, He was very poor in stealth, and the fact that he was a large dragon meant that was not a agile or swift as these preys. So in order to hunt successfully he had to use his powers, and often times he had to plan.

Not just sit and wait, but to set up some complex types of traps and kill zones. His breath was the most common thing he would use, if he didn't feel like using his breath than he could turn to use his light tail to shoot the Elks down one by one, and if he ever needed extra help he could always summon his essence dragons to either hunt for him or with him. Which ever he preferred.

" Want to hunt some Elk? " He asked Thorn as he had begun formulating a plan in his mind. Though as he thought he wondered if Thorn was also planning on anything to kill the elks. Though if her plan was just to kill one rather than what Tharasis was planning on. He guessed she didn't really need to plan much to catch one prey.

Now, Thorn was not at all a picky eater. She would eat nearly anything which was dumb enough to come withing range of her bite. However, she made exceptions most of the time for smaller creatures such as rabbits, as it would be more trouble than the snack was worth. The herd of elk certainly caught her attention, as they were more of a rare treat for her. The scarceness of their kind in her homeland mostly stemmed from the fact that the vines and brambles would catch their horns, so really her only encounters were with the occasional lost females or males who were trapped within the plants, soon to be the meal of another plant. The other animals, namely the sheep, were also of interest, but wool sometimes caught on the rough inner wall of her throat, making them only a target if no others existed. Only observing them for a moment, she already began formulating a plan.


As he spoke, she turned her head halfway towards him, still keeping an eye on the unwary cervine herd. She had a plan ready, even if it wasn’t very thoroughly thought out. “Zat sounds like a vonderful idea,” she mused, “so long as you don’t mind a little mess~” There was something… oddly sinister about her playful tone. A hint of sadistic mischief, disguised as simple amusement. It would almost seem as if the thought of hunting was more of a game to her than a matter of survival. "Vould you like to go first? Zey might frighten vhen I do."

Tharasis took notice of her look, something sinister and playful about her tone. He guessed she had already thought of a plan.

" Well, if I go first. Everyone of those elks would be dead, so.. Why don't you go first? I am very interested in seeing how you hunt. " He said as he then sat on his hunches. Waiting for Thorn to begin.

All the while he had conjured up his essence dragons, small balls of mist began to from around him before they slowly began to manifest into the these cyan colored dragons, Their eyes were of like Thorn. Their scales were of cyan color as they produced this mist around them. It would be clear that these were some form of frost dragons or ice.

The 3 essence dragons also sat alongside Tharasis, their gazes fixed forward as if they were sentinels. They didn't move, but they blinked. Something that apart from the mist they made, separated them from statues.

Tharasis observed how Thorn would perform, and would adjust his plan accordingly to suit hers. Be it an all out charge or a sneaky ambush.

Tinuviel had been flying about Shiveki for a while, searching for a elk herd to do some hunting. She had always preferred elk from this area, and the hunting was good. She had been tracking this elk herd unseen for miles, waiting for them to come to an area where she could pluck one up. This was her chance to finally catch one. As the two dragons planned to hunt the elk, there was a few metallic clicks in the air as something flew over them, invisible.

There was another subtle clicking of metal as one of the elk was pulled into the air forcibly, as if something had snatched it. Invisible talons pulled the shrieking elk into the air, alerting the others to the danger. The small grey dragons appeared momentarily in the air, carrying the elk. Tinuviel vanished after appearing, the elk going limp as she flew down into the swamp, vanishing into the trees. Tinuviel set down the elk on solid land and went about skinning it and dealing with the meat.

“Easy pickings...”She murmured to herself in kenarun, completely oblivious to the fact that other dragons may be around.
(Don't mind if i hop in right?)

In truth, Thorn hadn’t planned to kill all of them. She was only after one or two, but after gaining the knowledge that he was going to take them all, she figured that she ought to take more. Of course, she wasn’t the biggest fan of being observed, as it was usually the other way around. However, she would tolerate it for now. As he sat, she turned to move on with her plan. Her turn, however, only reached the halfway point before halting rather abruptly. Her gaze had drifted from him to the herd, then snapped back to him. The cause of her gaze was bewilderment, and the cause of her bewilderment were the wispy… things. Their appearance, the look of them, every detail about the three newcomers unnerved her every spore. It was her first instinct to ask, but given the power he had demonstrated when preventing her from killing him, she knew better than to question it. In her distraction, she didn’t even notice one of the elk vanishing behind her. However, the shriek of an elk was enough to catch her attention, though she couldn’t see who had caused it, mostly since she didn’t bother to look up. 

Shrugging the minor transgression off, Thorn turned, a bit uneasy now that she had such an audience. It was hard to focus when she knew she was being watched, no, observed. She really didn’t appreciate that. The idea of being scrutinized, well, she wasn’t keen on it being played unto herself. However, a few steps into the tall grass, along with the idea of fresh blood, she brushed off the uneasiness. Thorn sank lower into the grass with every step, barely disturbing it as she moved. She slunk silently along the plains, knowing that with her size she’d only have a moment or two to make her strike. The clearing was certainly not her favored terrain, but she could make do. It would be somewhat obvious to her onlookers where she was, but the elk were none the wiser. As she closed in to around twenty-five feet, she shut her eyes, ensuring all of her hide was green, relying simply on smell to guide her. Her movements were slow and methodical enough not to be noticed by her prey, which would ultimately lead to their untimely fate. She could smell one in particular grow much closer than the rest, a female, she deducted, who had wandered up to the large blob of green in order to inspect it. Perhaps it was food, but it wasn’t there a few minutes before. Alas, it was far too late for them. Quick as the blink of an eye, the front half of the doe was gone, snapped clean off of the rest of her body. Before the others could react, Thorn spring forth, spearing two more through the sides with her claws. They bellowed in agony for a moment before she promptly snuffed them out. 

From there, Thorn sat up, turned, and looked back up at her watchers. She had a smile on her face, and intestines dangling from her jaw.

(Sorry if it’s written a bit weird, I had this typed up and then saw Wisper’s post lol)

Tharasis watched as Thorn had moved to the herd, keeping herself low to the ground and close to the green foliage to conceal her from them. He knew what she would most likely do, so with a glance to his essence dragons. With no words spoken they suddenly moved.

He had noticed one of the elks had moved away from the herd, and close to where Thorn had positioned herself. And seeing the elk come dangerously close it would end with Thorn jumping and decapitating the front half of the elk clean off. Before she charged killing two more.

Tharasis was impressed, mostly because she had managed to kill 3 elks in her turn. But now he was going to show her how he would get his prey.

He looked to Thorns eyes, seeing a smile on her face as blood and guts dripped from her maw. He nodded her then gestured her to look back.

While she was busy killing the last two elks. His essence dragons made short work of the scared and fleeing elks, freezing them with frost before moving to finish them by tearing their necks.

When Thorn would look behind, should she look behind. She would see two of Tharasis Essence dragons with around 5-8 kills on their backs. They would stare back at her with white misty eyes, much like hers. Only white instead of her black orbs.

But Tharasis had noticed another dragon had joined them. And while everything happened he had sent one of his essence dragons to find them. From the small moment that dragon had revealed itself he had noticed the odd things it wore.

Mostly the parts on the wings, but before he could clearly make it out the dragon had vanished. And had taken with it an elk to the forest.


The lone essence dragon walked through the swamps, looking all around for the dragon Tharasis had ordered him to find. He came out to a small clearing, sniffing around the air for a scent.

Like a statue it stood firm and still, like a sentinel waiting. It couldn't find out where the dragon was, so it stopped there in the open. waiting for the dragon to either show itself, or make its scent known. Which ever comes first.

Tinuviel felt a slight bit of energy from the essence dragon being absorbed by her abilities as it approached. She quickly kicked the elk remains to the side and leapt up into a tree. She watched as it emerged into the small clearing she had stopped in, in the swamp. The skeletal remains of the elk remained half-hidden in a bush, as she didn't have enough time to hide it properly.

Should she try and kill whatever was following her? Most of her experiences involving dragons following resulted in them trying to kill her...
Perhaps it would be best to track were the thing came from. Maybe it left a trail she could follow back. Tinuviel hopped into another tree, looking to see if the essence dragon left any visible track to follow.

There was little she could do but watch as the strange creatures culled the rest of the flock. She was naturally impressed by their murderous prowess, but it was massively overshadowed by the dark cloud of disappointment. Two things contributed to that mass covering her mind: pathetic tactics and overbearing arrogance. She hadn’t quite yet comprehended the fact that these were merely artificial slaves with no other purpose. No, Thorn was under the impression that they were some sort of weird sapient, as she’d seen weirder yet. Thus, the idea that the male, of whom she still hadn’t cared to learn the name of, would send his followers to do the killing… well, it didn’t exactly make a good impression. Even so, the way they’d dealt with the elk, it was almost painful to watch. There was no blood, no screaming, nothing. Just the crack-snap of ice as their throats were removed. 

As a result of all of this, Thorn had entirely forgotten about the anomaly with the other elk. The thought of how it had disappeared was gone from her memory, but the elk was still there. She remembered the elk disappearing, just not how it had gone. Oh, bother. One elk wasn’t going to make the difference for her. She scoffed and turned her back to the essence dragons, snarfing down the rest of the elk and taking a moment to stare into the woods before moving to eat her other two. Now, Thorn was no stranger to the swampy forests, of course. She knew when something was not the way it should be. Hence, when something was crunched down because someone had stepped through it, namely the brambles, Thorn knew very well. She herself avoided those things, so it couldn’t have been her who left it. Perhaps it was another elk, the escaped one maybe. The idea began to blossom into what may have been a most terrible plan. Thorn got up, leaving the other two carcasses behind and leapt over the brambles, silently following the unobvious destruction. It led her to another clearing, where she stopped just before, concealing herself within a leafy bush. 

Now, she saw the essence dragon quite quickly, and she smelled it sooner. They had a distinct scent, one of raw mana or pickled troutsnap. Because of this, she could easily tune that scent out, which led her first to the corpse in the bushes. She didn’t even bother to go look at it, as it was clear enough what it was from this far away. Blood was something she had no problem smelling, so it was clear that it had died recently. Sniffing around a bit more, something dawned on her: they weren’t alone here. The longer she analyzed the air, the more things she picked up on. Scales... leather… leather? What would leather be doing in a forest? Thorn didn’t like it. Strangest of all, these anomalous scents were coming from what seemed to be right above her, but that didn’t make sense. There were only the trees above Thorn, no dragon of any considerable weight or size could be there, right? It puzzled Thorn’s narrow mind for quite some time.

The lone essence dragon turned instantly when it had detected Thorns presence, its bright eyes looking directly at her. Though she did not bother to look back, the dragon tilted its head a little to the side wondering what she was doing.

Then it dawned on it as it picked up the scent of the other dragon. And it looked up to where Thorn was, staring intently at the think foliage and branches.

Tharasis had now also turned to follow Thorn, accompanied by his two other essence dragons they soon came out of the clearing. With Tharasis taking notice of one of his essence dragons keen look at the branches above as if it was pointing at something.

Tharasis along with the other two essence dragons also turned their gazes to look at the thing above Thorn. But they couldn't see anything, only the foliage and branches. But Tharasis had picked up the scent and he knew something or...

Someone was there. Perhaps that Dragon that he saw? Maybe. he thought.

" Show your self. " Tharasis called out in a rather friendly tone of voice. He didn't want to scare of the new dragon now did he? And his voice made it apparent to the one hiding that, he and his companions knew of the dragons presence.

All the while his 3 companions got down to sit on their hunches, the two others laying down the fresh kills.