It Keeps Happening (OPEN)

[Brea Calhouger & Cyclone]

Time and Date: July 17th.
Weather: Sunny, with slight clouds.
Previous Threads: N/A.

Brea stomped through the grass, with trees towering high above her, with the girl grumbling under her breath. Her Deadly Nadder Cyclone was following not far behind her, a mix of confusion & curiosity present in his eyes as he observed his rider's behavior.

 

"Just how can today get any worse?," Brea growled, one hand gripping tightly onto the sword at her side. From the beginning, bad things kept happening to her, and for no apparent reason, too. The bad things consisted of her tripping and skinning her knee (with Brea using her scarf as a temporary bandage), an ambush by some Terrible Terrors over some fish (Cyclone scared them off), and to top it off, losing her favorite sword somewhere. Just the thought of it all made Brea gnash her teeth in frustration. Meanwhile, Cyclone let out a slightly worried growl, his head low.

"Don't worry about it, big guy," Brea reassured to the dragon, turning back towards him, a snarky smile stretched across her face. "Things like these are only temporary, believe me. We just have to pat- WAAAAUGH!!"

Unbeknownst to Brea, she was walking straight towards the cove, and without knowing, had lost her footing, and slipped and crashed down below.

The girl pulled herself up, a throbbing pain in the back of her head. Up above, Cyclone roared in great concern. "I guess I was wrong, huh?," she called to the Nadder. "Things like these keep happening, don't they? Just my cruddy luck."

Brea glanced around as she stood up, but fell to her knees, wincing in pain. "Crud, she thought, her eyes to her leg. "I must have pulled something."

As Brea winced, the slightest feeling of uneasiness hit her. Here she was, with a strained leg, probably unable to move it very much, and stuck in the cove.

"I can only hope my crash didn't attract any wild dragons or anything. But I doubt my luck can get any better at this point."

[Alexei Hansson]

Alexei caught herself by gripping a stray low hanging branch as she stumbled along to the Cove. Her breath hitched for a brief second as she almost hit the ground, but when she caught herself her tense body seemed to settle itself.

She couldn't understand why the usual walk along to the most secluded spot on the island was unusually bumpy today. Perhaps it was simply her own tenseness--she always emerged from a fight with Hilde with frazzled nerves. She huffed, blowing a strand of dark hair out of her face, and stopped in her tracks.

A Nadder. Wild? No. There was a saddle on it's back. It nipped anxiously at the dirt at the edge by the rock. Alexei inched closer to the edge to peek inside. What was it looking at?

And there, at the base by the water, sat a girl.

"Are you alright down there?" Alexei called as loud as she could--which, unfortunately, was not very loud at all. Alexei coughed from the exertion to her throat, placing a hand on her neck and swallowing a huge gulp of water to ease the steady scratch and burn. "Hello!" she called again, picking up a rock and tossing it over into the water. "Are you alright?"

[Brea Calhouger & Cyclone]

At the girl's sudden arrival, Cyclone groaned in worry, pointing his nose down towards Brea. Small pebbles crumbled beneath the Nadder's talons, which raked the ground with growing intensity.

"Hey!!" Brea waved an arm to the girl above, the other gripping her strained leg. "Finally, my luck is starting to turn around!" Relief flooded her senses. It seemed like a god-send that this girl caught sight of what had happened. Even if she didn't really recognize her face, better her that no one at all.

"I'm just fine," Brea explained, her voice loud enough for the girl to hear. "Let's just say a little slip caused me end up down here."

Her eyes fell down to her bad leg. "And I'm pretty sure I yanked something down in this leg." She pointed to it, before glancing to Cyclone, who was increasingly worried.

"Don't be such a worrywart, big guy. I'll be out of here soon enough." Her legs rose up slowly, only to have the bad one jolt down to the knee in a flash, with Brea's face wincing in sharp pain. Without thinking, Brea's hand reached for the sword at her side, using it to hold her posture in front of her. "Do you think you can get down here or something?," she called up above. "Help a girl out here. You can try climbing down, but if you fall, I can't catch you." 

[Alexei Hansson]

Alexei glanced nervously at the rocky trail spiraling slowly down to the ground. Difficult but not insurmountable. And it certainly beat trying to climb down the steep rock and risking an injury herself. Alexei fastened the buckle of her leather bag tightly around her waist and slowly made her way down. The Nadder growled protectively, eyes flashing between Alexei and the mystery rider at the foot of the rocky descent.

"I'm being nice here," Alexei said. "Do be a sweetling and try not to kill me."

And so began the slow, careful descent into the Cove. Alexei kept her back along the rocky walls as she inched downwards. As she did, she caught the girl's stance. One leg injured only. She'd need to get closer to be sure. Her forte was healing dragons, but healing nonetheless.

Alexei wound her way around and over rocks and fallen branches until she safely reached the bottom. She approached the girl carefully, keeping in mind the anxious, agitated Nadder watching restlessly from above. Here she can get a good look at the girl's stance. No visible break. Not from where she's looking.

"You are aware," she said slowly. "That there are plenty of safer ways to get down here, right?"

[Brea Calhouger & Cyclone]

Brea shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm well aware. And I doubt I can really inflict any harm on you, not like this."

As the girl climbed down, Cyclone flew down alongside her, landing next to his rider. Normally, he would have his tail pointed at the new girl, but in a situation like this, he couldn't really act aggressively, or else she might back off. He nudged Brea gently, and then eyed the other female.

"I wonder....," Brea thought as she watched the girl scale her way down. "Did the fall cause a fracture in my leg?" Just the thought of it made her spare a glance. The fact that she couldn't really stand added to this. If her leg really was broken, Brea would have to put off flying with Cyclone for a good..... I don't know, 2 weeks or so?

The thought of made Brea gnash her teeth in uneasiness. Cyclone had to fly, to give him a little fun, let him stretch out his wings. But if she was crippled, Cyclone would surely go crazy without flight time. And Brea was positive that if she let anyone else fly him, Cyclone definitely wouldn't approve (and probably throw the unfortunate rider off).

[Alexei Hansson]

"Let's have a look now," Alexei said, inching closer, avoiding sudden movement to keep the dragon from getting too agitated.

It's eyes didn't leave her once. The slightest flick of her wrist made it nervous. But it seemed somewhat compliant. Alexei stepped closer and closer to the girl, keeping her eyes on her legs. Yep. If there's a break, then she definitely can't see it. It could still be fractured. Depends on how she ended up down here. Fell from above? Tripped? If she tripped, it's probably just a sprain. If she fell from above...that would require closer inspection. Which the dragon might not be too keen on.

The girl reached up with one hand and stroked the Nadder's nose. It seemed to calm down, allowing Alexei to get closer. She felt a pang of jealousy. She had always wanted a dragon. But she could very well end up growing old and dying without one.

The Nadder finally seems to accept the inevitable and seems to back off. Alexei moves towards the girl. She looks strong. Healthy. Built to be a rider. She and the Nadder are like one body, fluidly responding to each others' movements.

"Now," Alexei says. "Let's have a look at that leg and see what the damage is, shall we?"

[Brea Calhouger & Cyclone]

"Go wild." As the girl examined her leg, Brea's eyes glanced up the rock wall, curious as to what her descent did. From where she was, she could spot several snapped branches, with the remainders wedged tightly in between the rocks. It definitely looked like a descent gone wrong. Brea heaved a long sigh, a bit annoyed at how careless she was. She should've known that would've happened. It was times like this in which Brea questioned just how bad things can get for her.

Off to the side, Cyclone watched the girl quietly, curiosity present in his eyes, his tail low to the ground. Though the girl didn't seem to have a dragon with her, she reeked more of dragon than human. Maybe she was a rider-in training? Or maybe she was a healer, dedicated to helping both dragons and humans alike. Really, it was anyone's guess. But out of pure curiosity, the Nadder took a step towards the girl, his nose twitching.

Out of the corner of her eye, Brea caught sight of Cyclone's behavior. She wasn't going to lie, even she was curious about this girl. "So....," Brea started, her eyes off towards Cyclone. "What do you do around the village?"

 

[Alexei Hansson]

"I'm a dragon healer," Alexei replied. "But maybe your friend here could already tell, given all the numbweed I'm carrying. You're lucky I found you. I usually don't come gathering herbs until tomorrow, but my schedule cleared up early."

Alexei talked slowly, keeping her eyes on the leg as she pressed her fingers along the skin. The Nadder inched closer to her. She could feel it's warm breath tickling the back of her neck. No need to push it away. The shadow didn't bother her and to try to make it back away probably wouldn't be smart when she thought about how close it was to being friendly towards her.

"You're in luck," Alexei said. "It's a stable fracture. The bones are barely out of place. Regrettably, flying is out of the question. But I think we could walk you back to my medical bay in the village if we can get you onto our lovely friend's back."

Alexei glanced up at the Nadder. "How about it, love? Care to give us a hand?"

The Nadder leaned forward to sniff her hair. Alexei smiled, turning back to the girl.

"I'll help you get onto the dragon," Alexei said, rising to her full height and smiling at the Nadder. "And what would your name be, sweetling?" she asked the dragon, taking advantage of it's (so far) docile temperament.

[Brea Calhouger & Cyclone]

Cyclone gave off the slightest snort, before growling "I'm Cyclone," in Dragonese. Hopefully, the girl could understand Dragonese, considering she was a dragon healer. He secretly hoped that she did, unlike someone he knew. He spared a quick glance at his rider, before going back towards the girl.

"That's ironically the best thing I've heard today," Brea commented at the girl's examination. "Well, minus the no-flying part." Her head turned towards the Nadder. "You heard what she said, right big guy? Guess there's going to be no flying for a good while." At the same time, her uneasy feeling returned in her gut. Only time could tell how Cyclone could react to no flight. Her earlier convictions came back to mind, and Brea felt a lump in her throat.

At the girl's request, Cyclone gave a squawk of agreement, out of both concern and (slight) curiosity. He was absolutely obliged to help his rider get some treatment, but at the same time, he was fascinated at what her job as a healer looked like (since she had to gather herbs and whatnot.) With a flap of his wings, the Nadder stomped his way towards his rider & with his head, helped Brea up onto his back, the rider wincing in slight pain.

[Alexei Hansson]

"The quickest way back is around the brush," Alexei says, climbing onto the rocky steps and slowly ascending upwards. "Cyclone...it's an interesting name."

As she climbs back up and out of the Cove, she turns back routinely to ensure that the dragon called Cyclone hasn't fallen behind with his live cargo.
He's moving with deliberate slowness, careful not to jostle his rider too much. She's half a mind to tell him that the danger is minimal, but upon second thought thinks better of it. Instead, she waits until they've arrived at the top and then reaches into her bag and pulls out a numbweed root.

"Here," she offers it to the girl. "It's alright, it's only numbweed. It's meant to relieve pain in dragons, but it works fairly well on humans as well. Just...don't eat too much of it. Might knock you out."

And she hands it to the girl quickly, noticing Cyclone's agitation. His wings flutter and he shakes his head around. The telltale signs of a dragon wanting desperately to fly.

[Brea Calhouger & Cyclone]

Brea grinned slightly as Cyclone glided up the cliff after the girl, the Nadder staring inquisitively at her. She couldn't say that she was surprised, since the girl pretty much reeked of other dragons and herbs (but in a good way, of course.)

As the girl handed Brea the numbweed, Cyclone couldn't help but take a sniff. After a second, he snorted in slight disgust. Even though this root was used to help dragons heal from injuries and whatnot, but this seemed nasty. Even if he was sick and needed this thing, he wouldn't take it, not even if Brea asked him nicely. He had too much pride.

"I know, big guy," Brea said to the Nadder, noticing his behavior. "This smells and seems weird, don't get me wrong, but I don't really have much of a choice here." With a quick motion of her hand, Brea took a chomp at the numbweed root, taking a good sized chunk.

But after a few seconds, Brea started to feel a bit woozy. It was situations like these in which Brea wished she'd actually take warnings seriously. But her stubbornness often got the best of her. Within 2 minutes, she was hanging loosely atop Cyclone's back like a rag doll, with the Nadder amused.

"Don't be so surprised," Cyclone groaned to the girl. "She.... can be too hard-headed."

[Alexei Hansson]

Alexei hears the nadder's words but doesn't pay them any due attention. She's preoccupied with finding the path to the brush. The old stone path she's accustomed to is uneven and too much movement will jostle the girl.
"Hold onto that Nadder," she says. "The brush is only marginally less bumpy than the old stone route."
The girl gives no reply, and Alexei doesn't turn back to check on her. Instead, she focuses her eyes on the narrow dirt path cutting through the greenery and winding in circles towards the village.
"There we are," she says. "We're almost there, now."
But when she turns back, her eyes find a slumped and limp rider, dead to the world, unconscious on her saddle. Cyclone looks at Alexei and for a moment she can see what seems to be the boredom of monotony in his eyes.
"The headache she has when she awakens isn't likely to inspire any envy on my part," Alexei says. "Why does no one ever listen?"

[Brea Calhouger & Cyclone]

"Really now," Cyclone growled, quite surprised. Normally, he'd expect other people to listen to a girl like her, especially since she was one who helped dragons and humans heal. But in Brea's case, it wasn't too surprising. He couldn't help but sigh a bit at the thought of his rider, and her stubbornness.

Now that he thought of it, how many times had Brea's hard head gotten themselves into trouble? The Nadder searched through his mind, recalling how many times. There was that one not long after they first met, when she got sick after she took him flying in the rain, when she'd got into a fight with a Monstrous Nightmare (resulting in the scar on her face), and heck, even her bad luck train earlier (fight w/ the Terrible Terrors, losing her sword, etc.), and insisting that everything would turn out okay. He spared a glance back at Brea, who was still out cold. He snorted a quick breath back at her, wondering if her stubbornness would ever subside.

But then again, he wasn't perfect either. And he had to be honest, even he had his own stubbornness at times.

With a jerk of his back, Brea was thrown further up his back, where the Nadder growled, contentment in his tone.

 

[Jokul & Starkad]

"Now?"

"No"

The hobblegrunt sat idly on a log and scratched her chin against a branch protruding from the fallen tree. Looking over to where her rider was collecting firewood, she asked again, "Now?"

"Oh my Gods, Starkad..." The teen groaned and tried to tune her out by facing the other way. It was hard enough to find wood without her help. Blurry eyesight made it difficult to pick out what was dead and what was still alive, so he ended up searching for clearly broken limbs that had already started withering away.

There was silence after his complaint, making it seem as though he'd finally succeeded in getting her to shut up, but she eventually continued. "What about now?"

"One day... One gods-forsaken day, is all I ask you." Jokul rubbed his temples in annoyance. "It's too early for this. Go find Mom if you want fish so bad." The hobblegrunt didn't even stop to think as she scurried over from her perch next to his pile of firewood. Her big innocent eyes weren't going to help her, but there was something that always got her rider's attention.

With one long swipe of her tongue, she doused the viking's leg in her saliva. "Agh!" That's when she made a run for it, hiding behind the log she'd been sitting on earlier. "Starkad! I did not want your slimy fish-drool!" The dragon hopped from foot to foot, getting ready to bolt. Jokul hastily wiped as much spit off his pants as he could before running after her.

In the forest, Jokul stood at a disadvantage. Any little root or rock that most people could avoid without thinking turned into hazards that could potentially bring his face right into the dirt. He was forced to awkwardly run by bringing his feet high off the ground. He tried to go around all the possible things that could trip him; Starkad, on the other hand, purposefully took the most obstacle-filled path she could.

Once she was far ahead of Jokul, she slowed her pace and took notice of her surroundings. A nearby crunch through the undergrowth caught her attention first. And then another, and another. Her frill popped open and her scales shifted in color due to her curiosity.

Much like a hound dog, she stuck her nose to the ground and stalked closer to the noises. Having gotten closer, she could decipher that there were voices as well. One draconic, and one human. A small purr-like hum escaped her, no doubt alerting the two to her presence, before she slithered into their vision.

The hobblegrunt's hue changed back to their gleeful yellow and green when she spotted Alexei. She honed in on the dragon healer and circled her once before settling into a steady walk beside her. True, Starkad didn't like any herbs or medicines she received every time she went to the healer's, but anyone she's met before was immediately put on her friend list.

In fact, she was so intent on greeting her "friend' that she didn't even take a second glance at the nadder behind her. Instead, she nuzzled the girl's hand, wordlessly demanding attention.

---

[OOC - I'm sorry for no warning! I swear, if this interferes with anything you had planned, I can delete this post. As for what I wrote in it, I'm only assuming she's met Alexei before because she always breaks things in the village. For all we know, Alexei might've been the one to tend to her wing injury *shrugs*. But again, feel free to kick me out. I won't hold it against either of you! ]

[Alexei Hansson]

She likes to think of herself as alert and vigilant. That nothing can catch her by surprise. Because being caught by surprise means that she's not in control, which she can't have. In spite of her best efforts, however, she's only human. So of course she's caught off guard.

"What in the--?" and her eyes meet a very familiar pair, twinkling merry and bright, and she gives a smile. "I know you." And she runs her hand over a spread of shining yellow scales and catches Starkad's face in her hands, giving her cheek a kiss. "Where'd you come from? Where's Jokul?"

She always does her best to erase the most difficult dragons to treat from her memory, but this particular one has always been hard to hate. She's such a total ribbon of a dragon. Because she remembers her perfectly. Only her memories are far less pleasant than a petting in the woods or a flash of yellow. Her memories are of darkening scales and numbweed and an operating stone carrying a barely conscious, drugged, wheezing dragon with a wing half torn off its body. She remembers the blood on her fingers and the scent of herbs that got stuck under her nails and stayed for days no matter how often she washed them.

But Starkad is yellow although she is flightless and this is a good thing, so she forces herself to remember other things. Like the followup checkups and how she hates the taste of the herbs that she'd have to eat and how Alexei would have to mix them with berries to disguise their flavor. She remembers how she always turned bright yellow when she'd see her. She remembers how she always seems to smile in that funny way dragons do.

And she gets to wondering if even though flying is out of the question, she ought to tell Jokul that Starkad might soon be able to glide.