Keeping the Peace

[Deleted]

Ilta glares at Kail as he throws the rock. That was most certainly not herding. They were fortunate that they did not immediately spook the thing. The resulting screech calls to her very blood.  When the young skull-headed dragon pops over the fence and looks at the two of them,  Ilta looks curiously back at the creature. This was strange. A dragon was standing in a walled city.  While it was a very small one, she hadn’t ever since a dragon outside of the Forever Forest yet. How did it even get here? Why did it come here?

Now, it didn’t seem like it particularly wanted to attack either of them. She can see it’s defensive posture and it getting ready to dart back into the night. She moves very slowly toward it in a zig zag fashion, attempting to get it move toward the rest of the group. She keeps an eye on its body movement and will back up as soon as she sees the faintest signs of panic. Everything about her is quiet. However, she wasn’t entirely sure what to do if it allowed her to approach. Well, she’d cross that bridge if she came to it.

[Claire]

Claire’s eyes grew wide when the young dragon slunk into view and screeched- not of horror, but of excitement. A dragon! A live one, and so young at that! Oh, this wasn’t something to kill at all. This was something to capture. The thing was not meant to be inside walls- it must be separated from it’s kind. She looked back for something, anything to round it up when she realized that the bales of hay were bound by thick twine.

She quickly dashed to one of the bales and undid the knot that bound it, the packed hay collapsing but leaving the thick and scratchy twine. She moved back towards Shy, coiling the rope around her arm. Herding animals was not her speciality, but she would do her best to try and capture this thing. Claire kept a sharp eye on Ilta before moving in her direction, staying low and behind whatever cover she could manage as she went.

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Kail blinked several times as the baby dragon popped over the fence and was unsure himself on what to do. Since the creature was looking at him and he was looking at it. "Ok......that looks like a mutated Cubone mixed with a Shiny Charizard" he thought and had to think as well. How was it in the city? And did someone captured it and was keeping it for a pet or something else. This raised more questions then answers. Could it be returned to the wild or did they have to kill it? The blond stayed still for now as its attention was on him. He reached slowly for the bola and was not going to use it. Unless the creature turned to run and would more or less try and keep the Dragon's attention on him. As right now he was going to be the distraction. Due to the fact that he screwed this up but at the same time though. Got the appearance of the creature though. Since this could change there game plan in general.

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The small dragon continues to look between Kail and Ilta. However, as Kail does not approach, it seems unthreatened by him at the moment, but still nervous. The small dragon turns its head to look at Ilta approaching. It has a nervous curiosity concerned the horned woman. Turning around fully to look at her, the young dragon lets her get a bit close. Not close enough to touch though. As soon as she enters its personal space, it starts moving backward to create distance between them again. Ilta manages to get it closer to the hay bales, but the young dragon starts grow bored and annoyed with this. It wanders a bit towards Kail, but still remains a good distance. The small dragon had never seen a peaceful human before.

[Deleted]

Séanait held her breath as the dragon turned and studied Ilta. From the corner of her eye, she could see the other woman doing something, but Séanait kept her attention firmly on the dragon, because that's where the danger would come from. Gods, she was frightened. Perhaps more so even than when she stood against a cavalry charge. The dragon was entirely outside her experience, and was completely unknown.

As her vision narrowed, almost to the exclusion of all else, Séanait kept her breathing steady, controlling her fear and excitement. The dragon might terrify her, but it excited her as well. How many people get to slay a dragon. Only the great heroes of her world's stories managed a feat like that. How renown would she be if she could manage to bring a dragon's head back with her? No, scratch that. How fantastic would it feel to survive a fight with a dragon? Surviving a cavalry charge was a great natural high, and winning a battle against six times your own number was the ultimate rush, but how much better must it be to survive a dragon attack?

Then, as Séanait began to feel the thrill of battle surge her and she prepared to charge the dragon, it stopped. She waited, breath catching as she waited to see what it would do. The beast moved a few paces towards the boy, Kail, and every instinct in Séanait's body screamed at her to charge. But, five years of military discipline, warfare and Breasal's more cautious outlook on life had had an effect on her, and she waited to see what it would do. Nonetheless, Séanait was ready to spring out and charge the moment the creature looked like it was going to attack.

[Deleted]

Kinship. Dragonions had a wealth to say on it as well as the importance of clan and ancestry. Ilta had only seen a dragon once before, and it wasn’t really the same as this. Dragons were deserving of some respect. To kill it like a wolf seemed a bit wrong.

She sighs as she watches the thing approach Kail a bit. Looking over to Shy, she says quietly, “You don’t want to kill it either, do you?” The thing was so young and hadn’t really attacked them or anything. She looks back at the dragon, shakes her head, and looks down. “I am at a complete loss what to do here now,” she mumbles, mostly to herself. Folding her arms, she asks, “Anyone have any good ideas?”

[Deleted]

“You don’t want to kill it either, do you?”

Séanait looked over at Ilta in surprise as the whisper reached her ears. She looked around at Claire, who didn't seem to be in a killing mood, and over at Kail, who had some kind of weighted rope in his hands, wondering who the horned woman was talking too. Comprehension dawned on Séanait and she shot Ilta an incredulous look that would probably be missed in the dark. The harsh whisper that accompanied the looked would have made her feelings plenty clear enough, and though.

"Of course I want to kill it. It's a fucking dragon, and we're not going to be paid unless we kill it."

[Claire]

Claire sighed quietly and shrugged, smiling towards Shy and Ilta. “Forgive me, was caught up in a flight of fancy.”

She pulled the rope off her shoulder and began to sneak around the creature, moving towards it’s back, adjusting the lasso. She judged the distance, pulling the coil of rope back onto her arm, removing a dagger from her belt. She made sure that she was the only person in this direction and nodded to the others before aiming at the dragon’s leg and throwing the dagger.

[Deleted]

Kail heard movement and saw the dragon coming towards him and stayed where he was. As he was the distraction for the beast. This was something he was fine with since the others were trying to surround it and try and capture or kill the creature. Just in case though both knives were easy to draw and try and slash at the beast. But he tried to keep calm as he was seeing a freaking dragon. The blond was worried that thing could either breath fire or worse poison. Due to the skull over its head which worried him since he was not sure what it would breath out. But if the creature did get distracted by one of the others he would throw the bola to try and trip up the creature. If it did get away though he had one spell that he could use to summon something to track the creature. None the less he was prepared except he hope that he did not have to change his underwear. If that dragon got close to him.

[Deleted]

The dragon continued to approach Kail, ignoring Shy and Ilta. It moved slowly in its approach toward the blonde human. Stopping short a few feet, it took a sharp inhale through its nostrils to get the human’s scent.

RIIIIIIIAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

The dragon screeched as the dagger pierced its leg. It was much higher pitched this time around. It spun around to face to Claire before rearing up. From its mouth, there it breaths a putrid smelling black gas. Should anyone be touched by it, their skin would begin to blister and bleed.  Breathing it in would cause one to choke.  Cloth would deteriorate when exposed to it.  With Kail now at the rear, it whipped its tail in his direction.

[Deleted]

Well, at least the bronzed woman wasn't trying to not kill the dragon, thought Séanait had suspicions that that hadn't been the woman's original plan. She watched as the woman moved off to one side, aimed a dagger and threw it. Séanait had never seen the point in throwing a weapon before but, as the dagger hit the dragon, she saw a use for the skill after all.

With an ear wrenching screech, the dragon whipped around to face Claire. Séanait never saw it breath the black smoke or the creature's tail whip towards Kail. The moment the dragon had moved side on, she had charged with all the speed she could muster, spear forward. Every animal she knew kept it's heart and lungs in the middle of it's ribcage, right behind the front legs, and so she aimed her spear there.

When the dragon reared, Séanait merely adjusted her aimed and thrust with all her might as she arrived, leaning into the thrust and using her body weight and momentum to drive it deeper. She knew that they needed to end the right quick, and a stab to the heart through the lungs was an excellent way to do so.

[Deleted]

Ilta shook her head as Shy shouted about want to killing the dragon. “There is no real glory in killing a dragon so small. Striking down a great creature before it hits its prime seems like such a waste.” Perhaps if it was larger, this would feel more worthwhile.

Ilta stepped back as Claire threw a dagger at the leg. “A bit more warning next time.” Now, they had a panicked animal, which was something Ilta couldn’t anticipate the movements. The foul smelling gas looked pretty bad, and reminded her to stay away from the front. The last thing she wanted was for a face full of that. If they were killing the thing, it seemed imperative to stop it from perhaps flying away. With her sword, she aimed for one of the wing facing her to at least break it. Still, this did feel like a waste. However, the gold at the end of this would probably make her feel better.

[Deleted]

Kail seeing that the creature was getting close and was going to make his move. Until he heard the wissiling sound of a blade that was being thrown. Seeing and hearing the creature whip around to attack. Kail back flipped right before the black dragon had tail whipped him. He guessed somewhat correctly on the poison breath as the stuff it breathed was acid. In his haste to avoid the tail whip, he dropped the bola. He landed and growled slightly but knew it was game time. He unbuttons the top right pocket of his jacket and pulls out a small vile of liquid. The blond downs it and was already feeling the effects of the potion. He then slips off his jacket and throws it way back. "Alright scalely time to go down" he said and then moved in lightning quick going for the other side that Ilta was not attacking. Whiping out his knives and slashed at the dragon's other wing. And if it attacked him with the poison breath he would have a some what special surprise for it.

[Claire]

Claire dove out of the way as the creature screamed, scrambling to get out of the line of what she expected to be fire. She threw herself behind a bale of hay and covered her mouth with her hand as the thick cloud of black smoke came after her. Her shoes were beginning to peel back and as soon as she saw this she scrambled further away, coughing. It seemed like her tactic had worked though, she couldn’t hear anything else.

[Deleted]

With one of the humans having fled, the young dragon is left to deal with the other three. Its eyes stare firmly on the one running at its chest. The spear hits the plating on the underbelly. It doesn’t manage to just pierce the dragon’s hide with blood beginning to drip around the spear. While it doesn’t quite make it to the heart of the beast, it is a clear weak spot and driving any weapon further through it would surely slay the beast. Or if they simply waited long enough, the beast might even die on its own with time. With the spear still partially in its chest, the dragon attempts to knock Shy away with a claw while breathing more of the black gas in her direction.

It gives another painful roar as the two people slash as it wings. While not quite destroyed, it would be difficult for the dragon to fly very far after the damage sustained. The dragon throws its wings back, batting them at Ilta and Kail.