2023.04.17 Yearning to Fly
| 04.17.23 Yearning to Fly | |
|---|---|
| Wulfra expresses a desire to fly; Peri convinces her that people won't be afraid within the Market | |
| IC Date | 04.17.23 |
| Players | Peri, Wulfra |
| Location | Lost in Time Market |
| Spheres | Changeling |
County of Lion's Reach - Lost in Time Market - North and East Quarters
The North and East quarters of the Lost in Time Market are made up of the sections between Eleven and Four. The sections are cordoned off by halfwalls, carved marble at the base, with thin wooden screens decorated with polished brass gears and cogs. The North section, the entrance marked by the Fountain of Dueling Warriors, ranges on the clock face from Eleven to One. In aisles demarcated with military precision, vendors have set up stone and wood stalls, the richer, luckier sellers having their own shops.
To the East, come the savory scents of baking bread, roasting meats, the sharp tang of alcohol. Vendors hawk their wares from carts and trolleys to stalls and shops. Fresh, raw ingredients, fully cooked meals, this is where the restaurants and bakeries reside, the brewers and the vintners offering beverages to quench any thirst. While those merchants provide a feast for the nose and mouth, tailors, seamstresses and haberdashers create feasts for the eyes. Racks of beautiful fabrics catch the eye, silks, woven textiles, premade outfits, rugs and housewares. There is even a section to one side for livestock or companion animals.
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Wulfra, after the little stroll with Peri through the mundane city, emerges into the freehold air. Almost imperceptibly, Wulfra has shifted to take on her mock-fae look with the pointed ears and more sparkly, fiery eyes. She glances over at the knight with a more relaxed, but still agitated over something, look. "Convenient how close that door is to the shop... I should come here more. The air is so much better...."
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Peri says, "Sark said much the same thing. I imagine it's got to be nicer for--" She stops and regards the other woman, inquisitive. "Not to be rude, but what exactly *are* you?" She smiles to take the sting out of the words, but her eagerness is obvious.
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Wulfra lets out a drawn out throaty rumble. "I do try my hardest to 'fit in', but it is difficult... especially for me. I am lucky I can function as well as I can, but I have a good friend to thank for that. And, well... I am like Sark, you could say, but also... different. I suppose at least one part of the knight stories I have read is true"
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Peri smiles. "I'm not a dragonslayer, if that's your concern," she says with a serious air. "I don't slay anyone or anything that isn't endangering people directly. Like, actively eating people or something. I'll defend people under attack, but I don't go looking for beings to kill."
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Wulfra chuckles a bit. "The part I meant was nights being *drawn* to dragons... but it is good to hear confirmation the rest is false anyways." Her eyes turn to the shimmering sky. "It is a strange thing how, even here, I have to be discrete... Sark said we could fly through here, though the people would need to know we weren't going to burn their houses down and eat them. Tch... I have seen enough burnt wasteland."
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Peri ohs, and says, "Well, that much seems to be true n my case. But I'm way too curious, probably too much so for my own good, but hey. Life isn't meant to be lived in fear." She chuckles softly, and notes, "You know, if you offered to give flying rides to the childlings, people would probably figure you were no problem."
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Wulfra seems to perk up quite a bit at that. "Give... flying rides? That's... they would let me do that? I am not the most wholesome golden looking dragon like Sark is."
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Peri says, sincerely, "Look around you. Not all the fae look like me, after all. Redcaps, for example. They terrify people just with how they look, and yet, I knew a redcap who wrote the most beautiful poetry ever. Not ever soul matches its outside, and not every outside is ugly just because it's scary. Beautiful can be scary, too. And scary can be beautiful."
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Wulfra does, indeed, look around at the square, and all the fae, face scrunching up a bit in thought. "I am glad... people can see things that way. Quite the dream compared to what... well, it does not matter now. How would I even go about... approaching with such an offer?"
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Peri looks thoughtful and then says, "How big are you in your primary form? Big enough to hold me, maybe? Because if they see someone like me do it, they might figure it's safe enough for them. And then they'll probably come asking *you*!"
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Wulfra thinks. "Well... I am not the biggest, unfortunately. About as big as a... deer... horse? I could most likely hold you... I need the exercise anyways, I have been told."
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Peri mmms and says, "Damn, I wish I could shrink a little... huh. maybe..." She pauses, and then holds up a finger. After a brief negotiation with someone at a booth, the other fae does a spin, a bow, and puts a top hat on, at which point Peri shrinks to about half her normal size. TinyPeri approaches and says, "This is better, right?"
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Wulfra blinks a few times, looking at her. "...I flew someone about your size before, but it tired me out quickly. This... will be easier, yes. And good if you wanted to pretend to be one of the... childers, yes? I would rather change somewhere more... secluded for this."
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Peri grins and says, "Okay!" And she moves at her normal speed, weirdly, so she looks like she's running as she walks as her three foot self. It's kind of hilarious. "I didn't want to tire you out, just in case an actual childling wanted a turn."
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Wulfra gives her an uneasy grin, walking over out of the main square... to the start of the nature trail they walked before to save a certain bunny man. Quite uncharacteristic for a dragon, she seems sheepish. "...I hope they are not too scared at first."
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Peri smiles. "Don't worry, it'll be fine! Even if they do get scared at first, they'll see that you're not going to harm them, and it'll be okay." She is utterly assured of this, and stands with hands on her hips beside Wulfra, confident.
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Wulfra lets out a long breath, not saying anything else before she steps away a bit. Almost immediately, her black hair starts to spike up, the ends trailing off into a smoke-like vapor... but this subtlety is quickly subsumed by a torrent of whirling black smoke around her, laden with sparks of fire and embers, that grows longer, wider. Four wings pop out of the cloud, membranes trailing the vapor, before it finally dissipates to reveal Wulfra in her full draconic form. She cranes her head around to look at Peri with all four fiery eyes, toothy maw opening to let out a large deal of smoke joining that which already rises into the chimerical sky, though it soon subsides until there's only two little plumes rising forth from her nostrils.
Four piercing eyes of pure fire stare forth, heralding the visage of a creature like the mystical dragons of old... though their head rises no higher than that of an average human. They stand swathed in ashen-black scales that, despite appearing almost like plates of smooth volcanic obsidian, flex perfectly with their movements. The dragon's unusual octoped frame carries four thick, legs each possessing scaled paws of wicked claws, as well as four membranous wings that stick up from the dragon's upper and lower back. Whirling plumes of smoke rise from the sides of their sharp maw and nostrils as if there was an ever-burning furnace within, flittering almost as if they had a life of their own as they dissipate into the air. A great spiky crest of an almost fur-like substance flows along their spine... from their head all the way down to the end of their lengthy tail... which it itself possesses a great fluffy bushel of the stuff at the tip. The gossamer ends of the not-quite-fur flitter almost as if they, too, were a vapor. A group of slightly twisted, long horns stick up from either side of their head and jaw, meshing with the thin smoky fibres of their mane... giving them a natural crown.
Despite their foreign appearance, their not-too-big stature, their fluffy not-fur meshing with soft-lookg scales, and their smoky-and-cozy-like-a-campfire aura makes them seem almost cute--and certainly some*thing* you would actually want to be around. Still, they possess the unmistakably noble, mystical, and sharp countenance of any true dragon.
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Peri looks up, way up, and her jaw drops. "Ohhhhh," she says softly, "You're *beautiful*!" She says that without any artifice at all, and an almost childlike awe. "I didn't expect you to have four eyes, but that must be helpful for sight. Do you see double, or just in deeper detail than when you have two?" Peri surely has some of the qualities of a child's wonder still, it seems, despite reaching the cynical age of a college student. "Oh, Wulfra, you're amazing!" She actually hugs one scaly leg with a laugh.
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Wulfra stares blankly, dumbfounded on how to react. "...really?" she says in a much deeper, more growly, yet still bearing a softness akin to the crackle of a campfire. Peri can feel her scales are particularly *soft* in a strange way, and she's as warm as clothes fresh out of a dryer.
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Peri agrees, "Really," completely sincere. The sidhe is giggly over this, and she touches the scales lightly, her hand finding they aren't harsh or sharp as she might have expected. "Oh, you're so warm. Must be the fire inside," she opines, her dark blue eyes bright.
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Wulfra lets out a low rumble, somewhat resembling how a cat might purr. "Yes... I suppose that is true." With that, she slowly lowers herself down onto her belly in the grass, folding all four of her wings inwards so Peri doesn't have to step over them to get on. Her smoky mane flickers back and forth in the wind, seemingly staying up in spite of how gravity would normally effect hair.
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The motion of crown and mane just make Peri smile more, and she climbs onto Wulfra's back neatly, with care not to step on limbs of any sort. She settles in like someone who's ridden before, even if it wasn't a dragon, and says, "You breathe fire too, right? I mean, don't show me now, but I was just wondering..."
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The mane creates a *very* soft seat even without any kind of riding equipment, as well as provides something to hold onto. Wulfra stands back up, stretching her wings out with another rumble. "Yes... I could 'breathe' it as you say. It is funny how the stories seemed so fixated on that of all things... it is simply at my core, and it shows in more ways than just expelling it through the mouth...."
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Peri laughs softly and shifts to try and find the perfect spot, holding on gently to Wulfra's mane. "Mainly because, again, of fear. People thought of weapons first, and other things long after. Nobody seemed to think about asking the dragon to help light their fires in winter, for example, or start up their forges." She draws in a happy breath. "Now I know why you have a scent of woodsmoke around you."
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Wulfra walks towards a clear spot, getting used to Peri's weight. She cranes her neck up and back to look at Peri. "Winter... yes, I hope I can experience all the seasons soon. And... you could smell it? That makes sense... it is a bit hard to get rid of."
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Peri shakes her head, "Don't worry about getting rid of it, it's a nice scent. I thought it was deliberately chosen." She chuckles, and says, "You haven't experienced the seasons?" A pause. "Are you *that* young, or just... came from somewhere else?"
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Wulfra thinks for a few moments. "You remember that comment Rip made about the 'far realms'? He was... not wrong. I am about 2-3 centuries old your time, so quite young for my kind... but that does not much matter. What should I do once I am over the... crowd?"
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Peri huhs. "Far realms like... the worlds they talk about beyond Arcadia? I've heard some stories about the places where ghosts walk after death, and places where wolves run wild, and wild space realms, and..." She stops. "Oh, okay, so you're not *young*, you're just new to *this* world!" She hrms and says, "Just... have fun! I'll hold on, so don't worry, I'll be fine if you do acrobatic stuff."
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Wulfra looks away from Peri, up at the sky. "I will do my best... so yes, please hold on." With that, she ulfurls her great wings, which with a few preliminary flaps, kick up the air below them and suddenly *thrust* them forth into the air. There's a subtle *thrum* of something that Peri can feel beyond just the exhileration of the ascent... a subtle, smooth magic at work as smoke and embers trail behind. It is powerful, but there are greater things to focus on at the moment as the perspective shifts to see *so much more* of everything.
Wulfra loses one Willpower
<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Wulfra rolls Dexterity + Flight vs 5 for 5 successes.
2 +6 +8 +8 +9 +10
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Peri laughs again and looks over the side, down, and to the side, and *up*, taking it all in. "Oh, wow, this is so much cooler from the sky," she calls out, "You can see all the clockworks so much more clearly! Wow, I wonder if the Nockers who made them actually flew up here..."
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Once they are well and truly up in the sky, Wulfra turns to be more level with the ground, giving Peri a comfortable seat. The four wings flap in their own individual rhthym, the ride so much *smoother* than one could imagine it would be. Wulfra cranes her neck up a bit to glance at Peri with one set of eyes, the other still focusing on forwards. "I forgot to ask you if you had flown before... or were scared of heights. It seems that did not matter... good... though are you sure you wish for me to go all out here?"
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Peri chuckles. "I'm not scared of anything. I am *unable* to feel fear," she explains, her smile warm. "I have when a friend put me on a chimerical little airplane he made, once. I all of about ten. It was a blast! But you're a lot smoother at flying than the plane was." She hrms and says, "I'm honestly not worried, I won't get nauseous or anything. I love this!""
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Wulfra nods, turning back to focus as they come closer to being right over the market. "Good... then I shall do what I haven't been able to since I got here...."
With that line, Peri can feel as Wulfra begins to glide down... picking up more, and more, and more speed as she goes... and bringing them near right above the market, not much higher above than the heights of the clocktowers. Then, with all that built up speed, Wulfra suddenly, but smoothly, banks left, throwing them into a spiraling circle around the market in spectacular fashion, giving Peri a ride greater than any rollercoaster could ever match. After going around above to give them a good look at both her and the smallified Sidhe, Wulfra gives her great wings another flap, converting the momentum upwards. She pulls her wings close, sending her form into a spiral that slowly loses speed as they kiss the clouds once more... before turning her snout down and righting herself with her tail with perfect precision and going right back down with another stylish spin.
She seems completely lost in the moment, her movements carrying with them such grace, magic, and majesty... a true showing of how a dragon's flight is more than just what birds or planes use. She thrums with energy, fire, trailing quickly disappearing black vapor and sparkling embers as she goes. It is the display of a lifetime! Well, a normal lifetime.
She finishes off by bringing herself to a smooth, parallel flight once more, letting out a large huff as she stares down at the crowd with more focus and presence of mind now... then glances back up to Peri. "I... needed this."
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Peri shouts in utter delight, "WOOOOOOOOOO!" She howls with glee and laughter once they bank left and start spiraling, her one hand still on the dragon's mane, the other pumping a fist in the air happily. "OH MAN THIS IS AWESOME!!!!" She, too, is lost in that moment -- anyone who has ever wondered why girls love horses would never wonder again after seeing this. The freedom of this moment is undeniable, and she war-whoops loudly, legs between the two wings on each side, holding on with thighs and one hand. The vapor trails make the Sidhe giggle even more, and from below, there are gasps, and yells of excitement and squeals of delight from childlings, and Peri says, breathlessly, "You should be able to do it here when you want, now... now that people have seen you!"
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Wulfra circles more slowly, glancing down with wide eyes at the reactions of those below. "I... can..." she says mostly to herself before looking back up at Peri. "I... shall land, then." With that, she halts her momentum some, looking for a relatively clear place to land down... again, surprisingly smooth, both pairs of wings working in an alternating rhthym to bring them to a stop on the ground.
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Peri seems almost crestfallen when they land, sighing and murmuring, "That was like... the softest landing ever," she says, and reluctantly slides off. "But I mean, now you can fly here. Look..." She points around them, where people are looking with curiosity, but not fear. Three childlings are clustered, pointing and whispering at one another. Others seem to be impressed, and pleased... but weirdly, not afraid. Peri shakes off the magic and returns to her near-six-feet, stretching a bit. "I bet that little troll boy would be thrilled to get a ride," she says, pointing to a blue child standing about three and a half feet tall -- a very young childling troll, to be sure.
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Wulfra sits down, glancing around her with wide eyes, completely bewildered. She shakes some composure into herself, though, letting out a smoke-filled huff before laying down to make herself as small and non-threatening as possible. She looks to Peri, then to the child, then back to Peri. "...I will do my best."
Wulfra brings her head low, speaking in as soft of a voice as the rubmly dragon can manage. "Hey there little ones... would you like a ride too?"
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Peri puts her hand on Wulfra's shoulder comfortingly and grins. The little troll boy approaches and asks, politely, "Madame Dragon, could I get a ride too?" The other three giggle and crowd up in a gaggle, asking, "Me? Me!"
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Wulfra gives a slow nod to the boy, laying down completely so he can get on. "Yes, of course... climb on and I will take you around for a bit. Hold onto my mane tightly, now.... but do not worry, I will be gentle! And I will give you others a turn after, too...."
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The troll boy climbs aboard, and smiles. "I'm Karl," he says proudly, "Thank you, Madame Dragon!" He holds on fast, excited and bouncing a little in his seat.
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Wulfra stands up. "And I am Wulfra... are you ready now? Good!" With that, she brings her great wings down, flapping up into the air with the boy. She keeps it simple, both out of worry to do things safely and of tiredness from her stunts of before. She brings him around a few times at a low altitude, though still enough to see the great magical lands around the freehold, then lands again in the same spot after the laps.
She pushes on, despite the fatigue, to give a few similar laps to the other childer in the group. "I hope you have seen and learned something new and wonderous, children... take care!" She says before trotting back over to where Peri stands. She sits on her haunched, closing her eyes, the two columns of smoke coming from her nostrils thinner and softer now. "rrrrrhhh... such excitement...."
